UAE NOC marked the launch of the country's first space mission to Mars ©UAE NOC

United Arab Emirates National Olympic Committee (UAE NOC) has marked the launch of the country’s first space mission to Mars by republished images and video clips of NASA’s Astrolympic project.

The UAE has become the first Arab nation to conduct a space mission to Mars, with the "Hope Mars Mission" having begun earlier today.

The unmanned probe was launched from the Tanegashima Space Centre in Japan and is expected to enter Mars’ orbit in February.

The arrival in February would mark the 50th anniversary of the unification of the UAE.

The UAE NOC opted to celebrate the launch by republishing parts of NASA’s Astrolympic project.

Initially launched around the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the project was used by NASA to educate people about the links between sport and space.

The UAE has sought to highlight the comparison between space and sport ©Getty Images
The UAE has sought to highlight the comparison between space and sport ©Getty Images

The project was developed by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory communications group.

Physical links between sport and space were highlighted by topics including speed, distance, time, mass, rotation and pressure.

The project also sought to provide explanations of physical concepts and made comparisons between common daily experiences and Olympic events, and space explorations.

The UAE NOC said it wanted to mark the event by presenting a common aspect shared by sports and space through projects presented by NASA.

The organisation said it wanted to provide distinctive historical glimpses of the Olympic athletes from a global perspective.