Countr­y's ambiti­ous space progra­mme aims at explor­ing Mars off the ground­DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates announced Monday that the first astronaut from the Gulf country will blast off on a mission to the International Space Station on September 25. The oil-rich state has two astronauts in training, selected from more than 4,000 applicants, as it looks to get an ambitious space programme aimed at exploring Mars off the ground. Both candidates — Hazza al-Mansouri, 35, and Sultan al-Neyadi, 37 — said they would be happy to see the UAE represented in space, no matter who makes the journey. Two years later, Syrian air force pilot Muhammed Faris spent a week aboard the Soviet Union’s Mir space station. As part of its space plans, the UAE has also announced its aim to become the first Arab country to send an unmanned probe to orbit Mars by 2021, naming it “Hope”.

Source: The Express Tribune February 25, 2019 12:56 UTC