MashBlur

The United Arab Emirates has jumped into the international space race at a full sprint,announcing plans on Wednesday to create a space program and send an unmanned probe to Mars by 2021.

"The UAE Mars probe represents the Islamic world’s entry into the era of space exploration," UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan said, according to Reuters. "We will prove that we are capable of delivering new scientific contributions to humanity."

The proposed space program is the latest costly project for the country, which has one of the top 10 GDP per capita income in the world. It previously constructed the world's tallest skyscraper and recently announced plans to create a climate-controlled city.

In the statement announcing the space program, officials said they are seeking to foster growth in the country's technology sectors and diversify its economy. According to the National, the UAE has already invested 20 billion dirhams (approximately $5.9 billion) in space technology, and plans to launch the Mars probe in 2021 in tandem with its 50th anniversary.

If successful, the UAE would join the U.S. and Russia as one of the only countries to successfully send an unmanned probe to Mars. However, Haym Benaroya, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Rutgers University, said he is skeptical about the project's plausibility.

"I certainly support them doing it, it's a great thing to do, but I think they'll have a hard time doing that by 2021," he told Mashable. "I'm sure eventually they could do it if they wanted to, but Mars has a long history of being difficult to land on, even for the U.S. and Russia, who have a lot more experience."

Benaroya added that in a half century of sending missions to Mars, only 50% have made it to their destination. "My view is that its a positive thing they want to do, but I think it might be more difficult than they anticipate, so the timeline they gave themselves might be really challenging," he said. "If I were advising the UAE I would advise them to go to the moon first."

The mission would last from 9 months to a year depending on when the probe, which would travel 37.5 million-miles, is launched.

Despite doubts about the UAE's ability to complete the project, the country remains confident in its mission.

“We chose the epic challenge of reaching Mars because epic challenges inspire us and motivate us," President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan said. "The moment we stop taking on such challenges is the moment we stop moving forward.”