Emirati Mars launch made in Japan, USA

The United Arab Emirates made history on Monday, launching what has been hailed as the first interplanetary probe launched by an Arab state: the Mars-bound “Hope.” The unmanned orbiter is meant to offer inspiration for the region’s youth, collect critical scientific data on the red planet, and present the ambitious Gulf nation as a tech-savvy exception in a region mired in conflict. Yet Monday’s launch, promoted heavily on social media in English and Arabic, was realized not in the Middle East but in Japan, blasted off by a Mitsubishi-made rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center and brought to fruition with guiding support from veteran US research labs. Moments that make history The...