UAE Mars mission aborted due to bad weather

A UAE probe to Mars was aborted Tuesday due to bad weather, a disappointing anti-climax for the Gulf state's much-touted space mission.

Mars Hope was hours away from launch at Japan's Tanegashima Space Centre when rain appeared and forced the team to abort the mission.

The mission is being carried out by the UAE Space Agency, Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, and the makers of the probe, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

"The UAE Space Agency and the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, in collaboration with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, have announced a delay of the Emirates Mars Mission’s Hope Probe launch due to the weather conditions at the launch site of Tanegashima Island in Japan," the UAE Government tweeted after the mission was aborted.

"The team is currently working on setting a new launch date for July, which will be announced in the coming hours."

Later on Tuesday, the UAE Space Agency announced a new date for the launch: Friday 17 July 12:43am UAE time, according to The National.

The mission has been hugely publicised in the UAE, announcing the Gulf state's intentions of exploring space and reflecting Abu Dhabi's ambitions for global recognition.

The UAE will become the first Arab country to send a probe to Mars, while media and government have touted the prospect of the Emirati flag in space.

The Mars mission intended to study the Martian climate and atmosphere, and will capture high-resolution images of Red Planet.

The UAE says it might help in seeing how water dried up on Mars and possible life died out, giving scientists a better understand this process on earth.