A spacecraft from the United Arab Emirates has swung into orbit around Mars in a triumph for the Arab world's first interplanetary mission.
Mission controllers at the UAE's space center in Dubai announced Tuesday that the craft reached the end of its nearly seven-month, 300-million-mile journey and began circling the red planet. It is called Amal, which is Arabic for Hope. And it will gather data on Mars' thin atmosphere.
It took several nail-biting minutes or so for the signal confirming success to reach Earth. Tensions were high: Over the years, Mars has been the graveyard for a multitude of missions from various countries.