The launch of the UAE’s Hope probe made international headlines as it achieved its first objective – to bring an inspiring and positive story from the Arab world.
News organisations in almost every country and every language covered the story, which shared the main headlines on the BBC flagship morning radio show Today.
The UAE “was attempting something only the US, Russia, Europe and India have succeeded in doing”, the BBC said.
“But it speaks to the Emiratis’ ambition that they should dare to take on this challenge.”
Sarah Al Amiri, Minister of State for Advanced Sciences, told the broadcaster from Japan of her excitement and relief to see the rocket climb into the sky.
"Today I am really glad that the children in the Emirates will wake up on the morning of the 20th of July having an anchor project of their own, having a new reality, having new possibilities, allowing them to further contribute and to create a larger impact on the world," she said.
In the US, The New York Times announced "Mars Mission From United Arab Emirates Embarks on 7-Month Journey," pointing out it was "the first of three missions headed to the red planet this summer".
The state broadcaster France 24 noted “Les Émirats arabes unis ont lancé avec succès leur première sonde vers Mars” [United Arab Emirates successfully launched its first probe to Mars], and “Almost an hour after take-off, applause resounded in the Japanese control room when the probe separated”.
"At the space centre in Dubai, people watching were transfixed by the lift-off, then cheered and clapped," The Daily Star reported from Beirut.
The launch also received coverage in The Times of Israel, which described the mission as "a source of inspiration for Arab youth, in a region too often wracked by sectarian conflicts and economic crises".
With the headline “UAE has successfully launched the Arab world’s first Mars mission”, the news network CNN called Hope “the UAE’s latest and most ambitious step in its burgeoning space sector.”
For Russia Today, “the launch marks the first interplanetary exploration mission by an Arab country”.
In China, which will shortly launch its own Mars Mission, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported that "in Dubai, the launch was met with rapturous excitement".
