The UAE space agency launched a historic mission to Mars. Its Hope probe went into space on a 500-million-km journey to study the climate on Mars. Hope should arrive in Mars' orbit in February 2021. This coincides with the UAE's 50th anniversary. The Emirates Mars Mission will stay in the Martian orbit for 687 days. It will collect samples of the Martian atmosphere. Scientists hope this will help us understand how Mars lost a lot of its air and water.

The UAE joined the ranks of space giants such as the USA and Russia. Entering the field of space exploration proves how ambitious the UAE is. A newspaper explained how momentous the Hope probe is. It wrote: "The UAE has catapulted itself…into the future – a future of insight and intelligence, beyond mere imagination. For more than 400 million Arabs in the world…[the launch] was a moment that [was like] an eternity."