On July 19, the United Arab Emirates became a new contender in space exploration upon the successful launch of the Emirates Mars Mission’s (EMM) Hope Probe, the first interplanetary science mission led by an Arab country.

The Hope Probe (Al-Amal in Arabic) is an uncrewed spacecraft that is on a mission to orbit Mars and study the red planet’s atmosphere. The Hope Probe will be the first probe to provide a complete picture of the Martian atmosphere and its layers upon reaching Mars’ orbit in February 2021. In the past, “probes have only provided snapshots of the Martian climate, (whereas) the Hope Probe will examine how it changes throughout daily and seasonal cycles,” according to Smithsonian Magazine.

The mission’s goals include monitoring Mars’ weather dynamics to see how they correlate with climate change on the planet. Mars once contained large bodies of water like Earth, so “the mission will try and unearth the reason behind Mars’ barren, dusty atmosphere and environment by closely studying its weather and climate” in order to solve the mystery of the now-dusty red planet.

Although this is the Arab world’s first interplanetary mission, the region has long played a part in space research. Smithsonian Magazine wrote, “During the Middle Ages, Islamic scientists used math and science to refine the movements of the planets and the stars, leaving an indelible mark on astronomy and space science.” In addition, 24 lunar craters were named after Islamic scientists, “including Abbas Ibn Firnas (810-887), an Andalusian inventor, physician, musician, engineer, humanitarian and poet — and the first man to fly,” as reported by Arab News. The poet Mu’min Ibn Said wrote of Ibn Firnas’ first flight, “He flew faster than the phoenix in his flight when he dressed his body in the feathers of a vulture.”

The scientist in charge of leading the Mars mission, Sarah bint Yousif Al Amiri, told the scientific journal Nature that, “It was very important for us to fit into an area of science that was relevant not only to the UAE but the global science community.”

In addition to being in charge of the Emirates Space Mission, Al Amiri is president of the UAE Space Agency, chair of the Emirates Scientists Council and Minister of State for Advanced Sciences. In an interview with National Geographic, Al Amiri said the program “had to develop an entirely new division that was completely foreign to us, and that is space science.” She went on to say, “The Hope science team is 80% women, a figure that reflects the high percentage of women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) programs among the UAE’s youth and in its universities.” Women also make up 34% of the EMM team. According to Nature, “Women make up a much bigger share of the Emirati team than for the U.S. counterpart.” In a field that is generally dominated by men, Emirati women are making great strides toward paving the way for women to enter the field of advanced sciences.