Mission to Moon to put UAE on path to Mars city
▶ Men behind Emirates’ space programmes outline country’s plan to populate Red Planet
UAE lunar missions will pave the way for a future city on Mars as Emirati space engineers fine-tune their expertise until they are ready to focus on the Red Planet.
“We always say that the Moon is the first step in developing science technologies,” said Adnan Al Rais, director of the Mars 2117 programme at Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre.
“Not only the robotics but also the human aspects as well.”
The first lunar adventure is scheduled for next year, when the Rashid rover will travel to the Moon onboard Japanese company ispace’s Hakuto-R spacecraft. The rover will explore new territory around the equator.
A future Moon mission could even involve astronauts, thanks to the collaborative, public-private partnership approach adopted by the Emirates.
“This is something that we’ll always be exploring in terms of who our partners are and how and when we’re going to do that,” said Mr Al Rais.
Work to achieve the UAE’s ambitious long-term goal of building a city on Mars by 2117 has already begun, with a lunar mission in progress and a spacecraft in the Red Planet’s orbit.
The country hopes to send missions to the lunar surface in the coming years, which will help to pave the way for a future mission to Mars with Emirati astronauts.
Last week, the Emirates announced a partnership with Japanese company ispace to deliver its first lunar rover, Rashid, to the surface of the Moon.
“We always say that the Moon is the first step in developing science technologies, building our capabilities,” said Adnan Al Rais, director of the Mars 2117 programme at Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre.
“Not only the robotics, but also the human aspects as well, so one day we will be capable of sending humans to Mars.”
US space agency Nasa and a few private companies are working on developing technology to land humans on the Moon.
There will be 1,000 humans living there by 2040 if ispace’s plans come to fruition.
Nasa, which will use SpaceX’s Starship to land the next humans on the surface, is also working with its international partners to build the Lunar Gateway, a Moon-orbiting station from which astronauts can travel to Mars.
In 2017, the UAE announced its goal of building a human settlement on Mars within 100 years. The National spoke with Mr Al Rais and Dr Hamad Al Marzooqi, project manager of the Emirates Lunar Mission, about the steps that have been taken since then.
Next year, the Rashid rover will be sent to the Moon aboard ispace’s Hakuto-R spacecraft. It will lift off from Florida’s Kennedy Space Centre on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
One of the rover’s main objectives will be to study the properties of lunar regolith, the “space dust” that sticks to spacecraft and astronauts’ spacesuits, creating a hazard to important technical components.
It will test materials that could prevent the dust from sticking and help to develop more effective suits for astronauts travelling to the Moon.
Once Rashid is launched, it will spend one lunar day, or 29.5 Earth days, taking more than 1,000 images and sending back data.
The mission cannot last any longer, as the rover would freeze during a lunar night, when temperatures drop to minus 180°C.
Dr Al Marzooqi said the UAE did not have the technology required to keep the rover alive during the night.
“There is a technology that will allow the spacecraft or the rover to heat its electronics during the lunar night,” he said.
“That technology is not accessible to every nation. We’re talking about radioisotope heaters, which are nuclear devices.
“This is why most lunar missions have a target of only one lunar day.”
However, Dr Al Marzooqi said there would be enough time to gather substantial data. The MBRSC team would have access to the rover 24 hours a day.
“It means that we can maximise the amount of data that would be generated,” he said.
“We believe, for a small machine like this, the amount of data is huge and can be used substantially for studies.”
The UAE’s next mission to the Moon could be in 2024.
“In 2024, that would be hopefully, perhaps, the next rover,” said Mr Al Rais.
“By that time, we might have other partners or we’ll continue with ispace for that. We’ll know when we start working on the follow-up mission.”
The UAE is linking up with private companies to gain access to space technology needed to launch its missions.
Its engineers worked with US-based universities to develop its Mars orbiter Hope. A Japanese rocket launched the spacecraft, while Nasa’s Deep Space Network helps Emirati engineers and scientists communicate with the probe.
The Emirates also signed the Nasa-led Artemis Accords, which outline responsible Moon exploration.
“With regards to sending humans to the surface of the Moon, this is something that we’ll always be exploring in terms of who our partners are and how and when we’re going to do that,” said Mr Al Rais
“Public-private partnership is a key for the development of any economy and programme, and this has been our approach since day one.”
Nasa has formed a partnership with SpaceX to send its next astronauts to the Moon, while China and Russia have teamed up to build a research station there.
“We are open to collaborate with everyone, including China, Russia and other nations,” said Mr Al Rais.
The UAE has not announced who it would partner with to send Emiratis to the Moon or when it will happen.
Astrophysicists have criticised Elon Musk’s plan to colonise Mars.
Britain’s Martin Rees and the US’s Neil deGrasse Tyson expressed pessimism last month, saying his goal was unrealistic.
Mr Musk plans to send a million people to Mars by 2050 using his Starship fleet.
Mr Al Rais said the goal behind the UAE’s Mars 2117 programme was to develop technology that could be used to benefit humanity on Earth, such as enhancing water and food security.
“Our long-term strategy is to send humans to the surface of Mars and build a settlement on Mars,” he said.
“The objective here is not to build the first hotel or mosque there, but to study the science and technologies that could help us here.”
The UAE has placed a greater focus on enhancing its water and food security because of the region’s dry and hot climate.
Its Hope probe is also studying how Mars lost its atmosphere, making it impossible for life to exist there.
It is believed the Red Planet used to be like Earth billions of years ago.
Scientists have been trying to learn how the planet died and if Earth could possibly have the same fate in store.
Not only the robotics, but also the human aspects as well, so one day we will be capable of sending humans to Mars ADNAN AL RAIS Mars 2117 programme director