From Brian Eno to Daft Punk: celebrate the UAE Mars Mission with our intergalactic playlist

With keys works by Vangelis, Jean-Michel Jarre and Tangerine Dream, this evocative collection will inspire you to ponder the great beyond

French electronic music duo Daft Punk have composed songs inspired by space. AP

With the clock ticking down to the UAE's next groundbreaking space mission, the launch of the first Arab space probe to Mars, the region is once again enchanted by the stars.

And when it comes to the realm of music, space has provided endless inspiration.

From 19th-century German composer Richard Strauss to chic French electro group Daft Punk, the universe continues to fascinate both classical and contemporary composers.

As a result, varied odes to the cosmos have been crafted over the years that are dreamy, cinematic, fantastical and deeply evocative.

And now it’s time to launch you into that mysterious sonic world.

With this playlist, we take you on a 90-minute journey with some of the world’s finest composers as your guides.

While each of the 18 tracks on offer are inspired by space, what’s fascinating about the pieces is the way in which each artist has tackled the otherworldly subject.

For 20th-century English composer Gustav Holst, known for his epic seven-movement orchestral suite The Planets, it is a place of majesty and wonder. In Rubycon Pt.2 by the influential German group Tangerine Dream, meanwhile, the mysteries of space pose as many dangers as opportunities.

It is perhaps the ambient music pioneer Brian Eno who sums up our enduring curiosity about space the best. His tender yet brooding 1983 masterpiece An Ending (Ascent) captures humankind's longing for the stars as part of our endless quest to answer that ultimate existential question: are we alone?