# UAE launches mission to Mars

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uae-launches-mission-to-mars/915827>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [July 20, 2020, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uae-launches-mission-to-mars/915827 "2020-07-20T12:04:30Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\
**Post date:** [July 20, 2020, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uae-launches-mission-to-mars/915827/1 "2020-07-20T12:04:30Z")

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Not a lot of news about this

> **[Hope probe: UAE launches historic first mission to Mars](https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-53394737)**
>
> The probe starts its 500-million-km journey after taking off from the remote Tanegashima spaceport.

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**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\
**Post date:** [July 20, 2020, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uae-launches-mission-to-mars/915827/2 "2020-07-20T14:09:46Z")

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[Here](https://www.space.com/hope-mars-mission-uae-launch.html) is another article from [Space.com](http://Space.com), and [one more](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/19/science/emirates-mars-mission.html), although that’s The New York Times and behind a paywall.

It’s amazing that the technology and availability of launch platforms) has advanced to the point where a relatively small country can attempt such a mission. Good for them. I look forward to hearing whatever results they obtain.

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**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\
**Post date:** [July 20, 2020, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uae-launches-mission-to-mars/915827/3 "2020-07-20T14:25:44Z")

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Bravo for them. As far as I’m concerned, the more players in the space game, the better.

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**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\
**Post date:** [July 20, 2020, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uae-launches-mission-to-mars/915827/4 "2020-07-20T19:47:36Z")

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It helps that UAE is very wealthy from oil money. Their per capita GDP is 19th in the world . Only 10% of their population is Arab, the rest are mostly Indian and Pakistani and other Asian people. the foreigners do almost all the service jobs.