This June 1, 2020, rendering provided by Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre shows the Hope probe. The U.S., China and the United Arab Emirates are sending spacecraft to Mars in quick succession beginning this week. (MBRSC via AP)
By Mari Yamaguchi
The liftoff of the United Arab Emirates' Mars orbiter was postponed until Friday due to bad weather at the Japanese launch site.
The orbiter named Amal, or Hope, is the Arab world's first interplanetary mission. The launch was scheduled for Wednesday from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan, but the UAE mission team announced the rescheduled date on Twitter.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' H-IIA rocket will carry UAE's craft into space. Mitsubishi launch official Keiji Suzuki had said on Monday a postponement was possible as intermittent lightning and rain were forecast over the next few days.
Heavy rain has fallen for more than a week in large areas of Japan, triggering mudslides and floods and killing more than 70 people, most of them on the southern main island of Kyushu.
Hope is set to reach Mars in February 2021, the year the UAE celebrates 50 years since its formation. A successful Hope mission would be a major step for the oil-dependent economy seeking a future in space.
Hope carries three instruments to study the upper atmosphere and monitor climate change and is scheduled to circle the red planet for at least two years.
Emirates Mars Mission Project Director Omran Sharaf, who joined Monday’s briefing from Dubai, said the mission will provide a complete view of the Martian atmosphere during different seasons for the first time.
Two other Mars missions are planned in the coming days by the U.S. and China. Japan has its own Martian moon mission planned in 2024.
Jeff Bezos’ aerospace company Blue Origin successfully held a fourth civilian launch into space on Thursday. Former NASA Astronaut, Leroy Chiao, joined Cheddar News to talk about the significance of this launch for the future of civilian launches and to discuss the issue of safety. "This is opening space up to more people, raising more awareness, which is good for the entire industry," Chiao said. He also discussed the nature of pricing the tickets for space tourism.
The most popular and most valuable cryptocurrency is also the least eco-friendly - data shows that Bitcoin mining generates the same amount of carbon emissions as the entire country of Thailand. According to nonprofit Fair Planet, 96 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions come from Bitcoin mining every year. Now, a consortium of climate activist groups is calling on the Bitcoin industry to cut its energy use by making changes to its software code. Michael Brune, former executive director of the Sierra Club, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
A cannabis software startup is offering a first-of-its-kind perk for its employees - reimbursements for legal cannabis purchases. Jointly Better bills itself as an experience-based cannabis wellness tracker and product platform. In an attempt to attract top talent, the company will reimburse up to $150 a month for its workers' lawful cannabis purchases. David Kooi, co-founder and CEO of Jointly, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Catching you up on what you need to know on Mar 31, 2022, with updates on Biden's push for more COVID funding, a wave of storms hammering the South, Etsy sellers going on strike, and more.
President Joe Biden has gotten a second booster dose of the Pfizer COVID vaccine, and he used the occasion Wednesday to call on Congress to pass billions of dollars in additional funding to fight the pandemic.
Catching you up on what you need to know on March 30, 2022, with updates on what is happening in Kyiv, the FDA releases plans for a fourth dose of COVID vaccines, COVID subvariant BA.2 becomes dominant variant in the U.S., employees at Conde Nast form a union, and more.
A NASA astronaut is back on Earth after a yearlong, record-setting spaceflight. He caught a Russian ride from the International Space Station on Wednesday with two cosmonauts.
Blue Origin is gearing up for its first launch of the year, set for March 31st, but it's not the only one. NASA is also days away from making history with its first private mission to the International Space Station. Three amateur astronauts, who have each paid about $55 million for their seat, will reach the ISS and spend eight days at the off-earth outpost. Jim Cantrell, CEO and co-founder of Phantom Space, joins Cheddar News to discuss what the future of space tourism may look like.
