VIDEO: Sheikh Hamdan explains reasons behind UAE's Mars mission

In an answer to the recurring question "why is the UAE going to Mars?” Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and President of the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center, said space programmes are the gateway to science and talent development and the Emirates Mars Mission will position the UAE at the forefront of the Arab scientific movement.

In a video posted on his Twitter account, Sheikh Hamdan stated five key reasons behind launching the UAE’s unmanned Hope probe to Mars, the Arab world’s first interplanetary mission, that took 5.5 million hours of work from a team of 200 Emirati engineers to develop.

Stating the first reason behind the historic mission, he said, "We are going to Mars because space programmes are the gateway to science and talent development. There’s no future without science and no future without knowledge.”

He added, "We are going to Mars because we want to solidify a principle for our youth that the impossible is possible for the UAE and the people of the UAE. When we are determined, we execute. When we dream, we make our dreams come true.”

The third reason, he noted, is, "We are going to Mars because the UAE wants to be at the forefront of the Arab scientific movement. Our journey to Mars is a message of hope to all Arabs that we can compete with the world in science and technology. The UAE today leads the Arab knowledge transformation.”

"We are going to Mars because Mars is the means to greater aims. Our aim is not merely to build a probe and launch it but build the foundation for tomorrow. This is the journey that Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid had started, and the journey that Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed are carrying on today to empower people with knowledge, capabilities and ambitions that reach the sky.”

The final reason is, "We are going to Mars because we want to start a new journey for our country. The journey of the next 50 years and the last 50 years that passed in the history of our nation. We started from the desert of our country, and we want the next 50 years to start from the desert of Mars, because we are people who don’t know the impossible, and nothing can stand ahead of our rising ambitions.”

Sheikh Hamdan noted that the Mars Mission will carry the flag of the UAE and the aspirations of the people of the UAE to the Red Planet in a long journey that will take seven months of travelling more than 490 million kilometers into space, with a cruise speed of 121,000 km/hr. The UAE will become the 5th country to reach Mars.

Thanking the team behind the Emirates Mars Mission, he reaffirmed that "the mission has succeeded before the journey begins.”

"We are immensely proud, and our achievements continue. We are blessed with leadership that only knows the first place.”

Sheikh Hamdan concluded, "Congratulations to our men and women, Congratulations to our champions. Today is a day of celebrations in the UAE.”