The United Arab Emirates has officially entered the global space exploration race. This came after His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan, President of the UAE, issued a decree to establish the UAE Space Agency, and began working on sending the first Arab and Islamic probe to Mars, a project named “Hope Probe”. This makes the UAE one of only nine countries working to explore Mars.

The probe was successfully launched on the 20th of July 2020, and is scheduled to arrive to Mars by 2021, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the union of the UAE. The planning, management and implementation of the probe project are implemented by an Emirati team, whose members depend on their skills and diligence to acquire all space exploration-related knowledge and applying it. The program is fully funded and supervised by the UAE Space Agency, while the probe is being developed by the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), in collaboration with international partners. The objectives of the mission include building Emirati human resources that are highly qualified in space technology, developing knowledge, scientific research and space applications to benefit mankind. Other goals of the mission include establishing a sustainable knowledge-based economy, promoting diversification and encouraging innovation, elevating the UAE’s status in the space race and further widen benefits. The mission will help to promote the UAE’s efforts in scientific explorations, and to build international partnerships in the sector to promote the position of the UAE.

For more information, kindly visit Emirates Mars Mission official website through the following link.