DUBAI — Inclement weather at the launch site in Japan on Tuesday forced the United Arab Emirates to postpone the launch of its mission to Mars, the UAE government communications office has said.

The new launch date has been set to July 17, the statement on Twitter said.

The UAE's Hope Probe was due to launch from Japan's Tanegashima Space Center at 12:51 am UAE time on Wednesday (2051 GMT Tuesday) for a seven-month journey to the red planet where it was due to orbit and send back data about the atmosphere.

The probe's scheduled launch date of July 15 represented the opening of the launch window for the Emirates Mars Mission, which extends to Aug. 13, 2020.

The probe aims to give mankind a complete picture of the Martian atmosphere. Data collected will be shared with over 200 research centers across the world.

The Hope Probe is the culmination of efforts of a large team of young Emirati cadres, comprising 200 engineers, experts and researchers, who over the past six years have ensured that all scientific and logistical preparations to control the mission were completed.

The probe will travel 493.5 million km over seven months to reach Mars’ orbit in February 2021, coinciding with the UAE’s Golden Jubilee celebrations to mark the historic union of the Emirates. — Agencies