Back on Earth, the UAE"s government turned the event into a socially distanced spectacle, with crowds gathering outside the Burj Khalifa, lit up in Martian red to mark the occasion. It was timed for 19:30 local time. Travelling at 120,000km/h (74,500mph) relative to the Sun, Hope began a 27-minute-long braking manoeuvre to burn speed. Had it failed, the spacecraft would have been slung out into deep space.