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The United Arab Emirates has successfully launched its first mission to Mars, beginning a seven-month journey to the planet.

It is one of three missions taking off for Mars this year, with China and the United States also launching missions.

The Hope Probe took off from Japan's Tanegashima Space Center at 9:58 GMT on Sunday (6:58 am on Monday in Japanese time).

Once it arrives, it will orbit the red planet and send back data about the atmosphere.

The probe carries a digital camera to capture images of the planet's surface, dust storms and ice clouds.

It is hoped this will allow researchers to better link weather with longer-term trends that have shaped the planet.

In particular, scientists think it can add to our understanding of how Mars lost much of its air, which is also how it came to lose most of its water.

Hope will orbit the planet at a distance of 22,000km to 44,000km.

Before the launch the mission's lead scientist Sarah al-Amiri, said: "It is a weather satellite, and that's one objective of the mission."

But the UAE is also hoping that this mission will help the country develop its scientific and technological capabilities, making it more involved in international science and space exploration.

The US mission to Mars sent its congratulations, tweeting: "I cannot wait to join you on the journey!"

Its probe, called Perserverance, has a launch window of 17 July to 11 August, with the team saying the launch date would be 30 July at the earliest.

China has also been preparing for it's Tianwen-1 Mars mission launch, with a predicted date of 23 July.

The ExoMars rover led by the European Space Agency and the Russian Roscosmos State Corporation had also been due to take off in July, but this mission has now been put back to 2022.