It will pass over Saudi Arabia during its descent
The Dubai Crown Prince wrote a message of encouragement on Monday, soon after Nasa announced that the UAE's next big space mission has been delayed.
Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum — who joined the ground control team in Dubai during the last few minutes of the countdown — expressed his optimism in a tweet, sending well wishes to UAE astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi.
"The launch has been postponed, yet our ambitions remain high. Wishing a safe and successful mission to Emirati astronaut @Astro_Alneyadi and the entire Crew-6 team. #ZayedAmbition," he wrote.
#ZayedAmbition has been a trending topic on Twitter since morning, while preparations for the longest Arab space mission were under way.
It was a hashtag that captured the UAE's space dream — a story that began with the ambition of the nation's Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre tells this story in a 68-second video:
Nasa announced on Monday that the crew will attempt liftoff on Thursday, March 2, "pending resolution of the technical issue preventing Monday’s launch". The estimated time for the launch attempt is 12.34am EST (9.34am UAE time).
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It will pass over Saudi Arabia during its descent
The base, called Mars Dune Alpha, is designed to simulate the challenges that will be faced by the first people on the actual planet
Out of a pool of 4,305 applicants, Nora AlMatrooshi and Mohammad AlMulla were selected to undergo training at Nasa
Ingenuity logged 72 flights over three years, accumulating more than two hours of flight time, travelling 18km — more than 14 times farther than planned
It includes 180 days of research work across four phases with Emirati crew commencing participation in Phase 2
As part of the mission, UAE's space engineers will build a 10-tonne 'Crew and Science' airlock, the entry and exit point for astronauts on the Gateway
The agency's engineers are attempting to re-establish communications with Ingenuity
The rendezvous came about 37 hours after the Axiom quartet's Thursday evening lift-off in a rocketship from Nasa's Kennedy Space Centre