After overcoming minor delays from technical and equipment glitches, three spacecraft, built by three different nations, sit atop three different rockets, at three different launch sites, waiting to start the journey to Mars. The European Space Agency (ESA) was not able to solve all the problems their ExoMars craft was having in time for their launch, so after it is fixed, it will have to be put into storage for two years, until the planetary alignment allows for another try, in 26 months.
For the U.A.E., whose small satellite, “Hope,” is being launched by Japan, it is their first foray into deep space.