Today we announce two epic projects in our history: establishing UAE Space Agency and sending the first Arab spaceship to Mars by 2021. With investments already exceeding 20 billion dirhams, the agency will maximise the contribution of space industries to the national economy. The more than 60 million kilometer journey to Mars will mark UAE out as one of few countries with space programmes to explore the Red Planet. Our region is a cradle of great civilisations. Given the right tools, Arabs, once again, can deliver new scientific contributions to humanity.