The U.S. and China are also launching their own Mars missions — expected to reach the planet's orbit around the same time as the Hope probe.

Before the UAE struck it rich with oil, the region had a different source of wealth -- pearl oysters. The naturally occurring treasures once formed the backbone of its economy, but their significance dwindled by the early 1900s as a result of Japanese techniques for cultivating immaculate pearls. Now a new type of oyster is flourishing in the Persian Gulf -- the edible kind. And they could soon help the United Arab Emirates reduce its need to import up to 85% of its food, including European oysters.