Iran will launch an observation satellite into orbit by the end of this week in order to study earthquakes, natural disasters and develop agriculture.
"We are not afraid of failure and we will not lose hope. With your prayers and trust in God, the Zafar satellite by the end of this week ... will be heading toward an orbit of 530 km from Earth," Iranian Minister of Information and Communications Technology Mohammad Javad Azari-Jahromi tweeted on Monday.
The head of Iran's national space agency recently said that work on the scientific observation satellite named Zafar - which means victory in Farsi - "began three years ago with the participation of 80 Iranian scientists."
Morteza Berari said on Saturday that the 113kg satellite will be launched by a Simorgh rocket 530km (329 miles) above the Earth, where it will make 15 orbits daily.
The satellite was designed to remain operational for more than 18 months, he added.
Its "primary mission" will be collecting imagery, said Berari. He said Iran needed such data to study earthquakes, prevent natural disasters and develop its agriculture.
"It will be a new step for our country," said Berari, noting that Iran had previously managed to place a satellite into orbit 250km (155 miles) above the Earth.
Iran advocates for the "peaceful use of outer space", the Iranian official said.
"All our activities in the domain of outer space are transparent," he said.
Zafar is a microsatellite with the mission to take high-resolution wall maps and aerial photos of locations around the globe. The satellite is equipped with color cameras for surveying oil reserves, mines, jungles and natural disasters.
Two satellites of this type have been built with a cost of $2.2 million.
Simorgh (Safir-2) is the second iranian space launcher. The 25 m high rocket has a capability to put 250 kg into a low earth orbit.
The Iranian Space Agency hopes to build five more satellites before March 2021, Berari added.
In January 2019, Tehran announced that its Payam - which means Message in Farsi - satellite had failed to reach orbit. Payam's mission was to collect data on environmental change in Iran.