Space Agency marks third anniversary
THE GOVERNMENT HAS A CLEAR VISION ABOUT ITS MISSION TO THE RED PLANET, TOP OFFICIAL SAYS
The UAE’s Mars 2117 project, which will see Emirati settlement on the Red Planet within 100 years, will help solve many crucial problems such as scarcity of water and food on earth, a senior official said in an interview with Gulf
News yesterday. “Mars has always been there in the world’s imagination. The UAE Government has a clear vision on its Mars mission and our youth are excited about it,” said Dr Mohammad Al Ahbabi, Director-General of the UAE Space Agency on the sidelines of the third anniversary celebrations of the agency in Abu Dhabi. Senior officials including Dr Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of State for Higher Education and Chairman of the Agency, attended the event.
The UAE announced on February 14, 2017 that it would build the first city on Mars in collaboration with specialised international organisations and scientific institutes. The new project will be associated with research themes featuring the exploration of transportation means, energy and food on Mars.
Hope probe
Al Ahbabi said the government was well informed about the potential benefits of the UAE’s Hope probe that will send the Arab world’s first spacecraft to the Red Planet in 2020 to study the Martian atmosphere and factors contributing to dramatic climate change. “Then, why not use those gains to solve some of our challenges on earth, especially in the Middle East? Not everybody understands this idea,” he said.
Unfortunately, we in this region share some similarities with Mars … there is scarcity of water and food [on Mars and in this region],” Al Ahbabi said.
Hence, the UAE’s way of using technology to produce water and food has to be replicated on Mars. Mars also does not have natural resources such as rivers. Extreme climatic conditions are also similar, the official pointed out. The research to meet such challenges on Mars as part of Mars 2117 project will help solve similar problems in the region, the official said.
He said the regular talks about solutions to water scarcity in the region may not make it a compelling case.
“But when we say we go to Mars and we want the best scientists to come out with solutions to such problems, it attracts everyone’s attention.”
The camera on your mobile phone is such a contribution from the space sector, the official said.
Such a small camera was originally invented for spacecraft and later it was found that it could be used on mobile phones. “This is the same concept. You do research on space and find solutions to problems on earth. Likewise, the Mars 2117 project can find solutions to many challenges,” Al Ahbabi said.
This is very similar to what India, a developing nation making big progress in the space sector, is doing.
“People ask why India is spending billions on space programmes, while its people are sleeping on the streets. But the Indian Government says they are doing so to solve problems on earth,” he said.
The event highlighted the agency’s most important accomplishments since its establishment in 2014.
Dr Ahmad Abdullah Belhoul Al Falasi said the UAE Space Agency has become the largest agency in the region to oversee a modern space programme.
The agency has become a model and a standard for countries seeking to launch ambitious space programmes and agencies.