South Korea could partner with UAE in future space missions

The president of the Korean space agency said he would welcome a collaboration between the countries

TOPSHOT - In this handout photograph taken and released on July 20, 2020 by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries an H-2A rocket carrying the Hope Probe known as "Al-Amal" in Arabic, developed by the Mohammed BShow more

The president of South Korea's space agency said he would welcome the chance to collaborate with the UAE in missions to Mars and the Moon.

Lim Cheol-ho, from the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (Kari), said his country would benefit from the Emirates' growing experience in the sector.

This week, the UAE’s Hope probe took off from Japan's Tanegashima Space Centre en route to Mars to carry out a detailed study of the planet.

Mr Lim congratulated the Emirates on the successful launch and said he would encourage a partnership in space exploration between the two nations.

"I believe Korea can greatly benefit from the UAE’s experience and accumulated knowledge in Mars,” he told the UAE’s state news agency, Wam.

"I hope that we share the experience [of Hope] and [its] scientific data, so we can open up a new chapter of our co-operation in space exploration.”

South Korea is planning to launch a lunar orbiter to survey the Moon in July 2022.

In the past decade, Kari and the Emirates worked together in the development of Earth observation satellites.

“The UAE has become the fifth country in the world to launch a Mars probe,” Mr Lim said.

“This means the UAE is one step ahead of Korea in terms of space exploration [and] I extend my heartfelt congratulations on the achievement.

“I sincerely wish Hope probe’s safe arrival on Mars’ orbit and a successful completion of the mission.”