Mohammed founded the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre in 2015,[50] which announced it would be launching a spacecraft to Mars to study the planet’s atmosphere;[51] He stated that the planet was chosen for its "epic challenge,"[52] saying it would benefit the Emirati economy.[53] He announced that the mission would be called Hope after a public vote, as the name would "send a message of optimism to millions of young Arabs,"[54] since "Arab civilisation once played a great role in contributing to human knowledge, and [would] play that role again."[55]
Mohammed announced that the Hope mission had succeeded at orbit insertion on 9 February 2021,[56] and shared the first picture the probe had captured days later. Hope became the first Arab mission to space, as well as the first of three missions in July 2020—the others from the US and China—to arrive at Mars.[57][58]
In 2020, Mohammed announced a second mission, this one to the moon.[59][60] The Emirates Lunar Mission will use a rover reportedly built entirely in the UAE,[61] and is scheduled for 2022.[62]