Japan rocket carrying UAE Mars probe ready for Monday launch

TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese H-IIA rocket carrying a United Arab Emirates Mars spacecraft has been placed on the launch pad for Monday’s scheduled liftoff for the Arab world’s first interplanetary mission. The launch of the orbiter — named Amal, or Hope — from Tanegashima Space Center on a small southern Japanese island was initially scheduled for this past Wednesday, but was delayed due to bad weather in the region. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the provider of the H-IIA