The UAE has launched a new space mission.

“Today, among Projects of the 50, the UAE launched a new space mission… a mission to explore the planet Venus and seven other asteroids in the solar system,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai said on Twitter.

The mission will be the first Arab landing on an asteroid at the end of its 3.6 billion km journey, he said.

Sheikh Mohammed added that the Arabs were pioneers of astronomy. “Our mission is to resume our Arab civilization. And if we don’t act today, when?” he quizzed.

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan also took to Twitter to laud the new mission.

The UAE’s first mission to Mars, the Hope probe successfully entered the red planet’s orbit in February this year.

Read: UAE Hope Probe achieves historic milestone, successfully enters Mars orbit