“Space exploration is hard and takes great investment. However, when a nation dreams big, its citizenry dreams big and dreaming big is what makes tomorrow come…”

— Astrophysicist Dr Neil deGrasse Tyson

The UAE Space Agency (UAESA) and Emirates Institute for Advance Science and Technology (EIAST) are coming together and working towards constructing, testing and launching the Arab world’s first attempt to send a space probe to our nearest planetary neighbour, Mars.

The move begs a number of questions, not least of which is why is the UAE attempting such a far-reaching endeavour and how this mission will transform the UAE’s burgeoning science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (Stem) education sector. Will the move truly be a catalyst in the development of a new culture of science and aerospace in the UAE?

For any government or institution to send a probe into space is quite extraordinary; but to send a spacecraft to Mars carrying the hopes of a nation is undoubtedly grandiose. One reason for this attempt is to prove to the world that the Middle East and specifically the UAE has the ability to build and send a spacecraft on an interplanetary voyage. The mission is complicated by Mars’ orbit, which is not a perfect circle; but elliptical.

So in order to launch a probe to Mars, the UAESA will have to wait for a specific date when Mars is closest to Earth, which in 2014 was 92.4 million km. By launching the space probe and having it rendezvous with Mars successfully, the UAE will join an elite group of countries and agencies that have successfully launched probes to Mars, which include Nasa, Russia’s Roscosmos, the European Space Agency and — the group’s newest member — the Indian Space Research Organisation.

In addition to constructing, testing and launching a Mars probe, the UAE will establish a credible and viable aerospace industry that will venture into new missions and objectives focusing on space science and technology.

The true impact of the move will be felt some 20 to 30 years from now. Creating a strong aerospace infrastructure will create opportunities for more qualified engineers who are specialised in rocket and propulsion technology, a wider variety of scientists to further the Middle East’s and humanity’s knowledge in space science and inquiry, more competent mathematicians who are capable of calculating and solving some of the universe’s greatest mysteries, and more innovative and creative technologists who will build the systems that will meld the work of these thinkers. The result will be to lead the Emirates — even the region — to nurture a section of its own population that is highly specialised in space science and technology, supported by a trusted and self-sufficient aerospace industry emanating from the UAE.

The move has the potential to spark a new golden age. The opportunity is clear, a new age of enlightenment that will spark a cultural evolution in which the pursuit of knowledge will allow us to forget about the region’s turmoils of the past century and focus on our future. The opportunity is clearly to move forward, to venture beyond our planet and on to the stars.

Saeed Bin Mohammed Al Gergawi is a specialist in future technology trends. You can follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/@saeed_algergawi