The largest space program in the Arab world officially has lift-off.
Leaders of the UAE launched the nations ambitious space program on Wednesday, with plans to send the first Emirati astronaut to space within a "few years" and build a city on Mars.
"We plan to send the first Emirati astronaut to space over the next few years," Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, ruler of Dubai and vice president and prime minister of the UAE, said, according to The National.
He credited the nation's youth with leading the space program forward.
"We’re so proud to see Emirati youth play a pivotal role in shaping the future of our ambitious nation and exploring new frontiers of knowledge," he said.
"Our space program is a message to our Arab region's ability to compete globally and add to human knowledge and excellence in specialized techniques."
Earlier this year, >the UAE announced plans to build a city on Mars by 2117. The detailed plan even included detailed renderings of what the first Martian city could look like.
“The landing of people on other planets has been a longtime dream for humans. Our aim is that the UAE will spearhead international efforts to make this dream a reality,” Sheikh Mohammed said in February.
The country had previously set up the Emirates Mars Mission, which plans to send an unmanned spacecraft to explore Mars in 2020.
The UAE has been working towards space exploration for several years.
In 2015, the nation >announced the creation of the UAE Space Agency's strategy. DubaiSat-1, the UAE's first government-backed satellite, launched into orbit via a Russian rocket in 2009. Since then DubaiSat-2 and KhalifaSat (formerly known as DubaiSat-3) have also been launched.