United Arab Emirates has announced that it will create a space agency with the goal of sending the first Arab unmanned probe to Mars no later than 2021.
A UAE Space Agency will also be created to run the project, according to the Associated Press.
"The UAE has entered the space race with a project to send an unmanned probe to Mars by 2021 in the Arab world's first mission to another planet," said an Emirati government statement.
UAE investments in space technologies have already surpassed 20 billion dirhams ($5.44 billion), according to the statement.
The country currently has Al-Yah Satellite Communications, a satellite data and television broadcast company, Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications, a mobile satellite communication company and Dubai Sat, an Earth-mapping and observation system.
"We chose the epic challenge of reaching Mars because epic challenges inspire us and motivate us," said the UAE vice president and ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum.
The agency will run the country's space technology sector and supervise the probe mission.
It will take approximately nine months to make the journey to the Red Planet.
The United Arab Emirates will become the ninth country in the world with space programs to explore Mars, according to the statement.
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