The United Arab Emirates has announced a three-year extension of its pioneering Mars mission, reinforcing the Gulf nation’s long-term ambitions in space exploration and its drive to become a major player in the global space economy. The decision will keep the Emirates Mars Mission — centered on the Hope probe — operating through 2028, marking nearly a decade of activity since the spacecraft’s launch and underscoring the UAE’s commitment to sustained deep-space operations.
An artist's rendition of the Hope orbiter around Mars. Credit: UAE Space Agency
The Hope spacecraft, part of the Emirates Mars Mission, entered orbit around Mars in February 2021 after a seven-month journey through interplanetary space. The $200 million mission made the UAE the first Arab nation to successfully reach and study the Red Planet, a milestone widely seen as transformative for the country’s scientific and technological standing.
Initially, mission planners set a goal of collecting one terabit of atmospheric data to better understand the Martian climate system. Instead, the spacecraft exceeded expectations by returning 10 terabits of data — ten times the original target — providing researchers with an unprecedented global view of Mars’ weather patterns and atmospheric dynamics across multiple seasons.
Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, chairman of the UAE Space Agency and UAE Minister of Sports, announced the extension during a press conference in Dubai, describing the mission’s scientific return as a major success.
Beyond its primary atmospheric objectives, Hope also conducted detailed observations of Deimos, one of Mars’ two small moons. The spacecraft delivered some of the most precise images and measurements yet of the irregularly shaped body, contributing to debates over its origin.
Additionally, UAE scientists reported that the probe captured data related to comet 3I/ATLAS — only the third known interstellar object detected passing through the solar system — further broadening the mission’s scientific footprint.
The extension comes as the UAE articulates increasingly ambitious goals for its space sector. Al Falasi said the country aims to rank among the world’s 10 largest space economies by 2031, signaling a shift from primarily government-funded exploration toward deeper private-sector participation.
“In the first decade, our focus was on building foundations,” he said, noting that the early years of the space agency relied heavily on public investment. “Now we’re seeing the private sector becoming more involved.”
That shift is already evident in the nation’s next major deep-space endeavor: the Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt, a billion-dollar project slated for launch in 2028. According to Al Falasi, 50 percent of the mission’s budget has been allocated for private-sector participation — a significant step toward commercializing the country’s space activities.
The asteroid mission will dispatch an unmanned spacecraft on a five-billion-kilometre journey to explore multiple objects in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The long-duration expedition is designed to expand the UAE’s scientific portfolio beyond planetary atmospheres to include small-body exploration, resource studies and deep-space navigation technologies.
From Oil Wealth to Orbital Ambitions
The UAE’s rapid rise in space exploration reflects a broader national strategy to diversify its economy beyond hydrocarbons and invest in advanced science and technology sectors. In less than a decade, the country has moved from having no independent planetary missions to operating a successful Mars orbiter and planning a complex asteroid belt expedition.
With the Hope probe continuing to return valuable data and a new flagship mission on the horizon, the UAE is signaling that its presence in deep space is not a symbolic gesture but a sustained strategic commitment.
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