UAE launches ‘Mars City’ project
$137m museum to be the largest space simulation city ever built
ABU DHABI, Sept 27, (KUNA): The United Arab Emirates launched Tuesday an ambitious project to build Mars simulation city to simulate living on the Red Planet.
The project was unveiled at the annual meeting for the UAE government in Abu Dhabi today, the Dubai government’s media office reported in a press statement.
“The new project is another step in the UAE’s leading contributions to the global science movement; we seek to set an example and motivation for others to participate, and contribute, to humanity’s march into space,” the statement quoted the UAE Vice-President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum as saying.
It noted that the city would cost nearly AED 500 million ($137 million). It would cover 1.9 million square feet, making it the largest space simulation city ever built and will provide a viable and realistic model to simulate living on the surface of Mars.
Studies
It would encompass laboratories for food, energy and water, as well as agricultural testing and studies about food security in the future. The science city will also boast a museum that displays humanity’s greatest space achievements, including educational areas meant to engage young citizens with space, and inspire in them a passion for exploration and discovery.
The walls of the museum will be 3D printed, using sand from the Emirati desert.
“The UAE seeks to establish international efforts to develop technologies that benefit humankind, and that establish the foundation of a better future for more generations to come,” Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid said.
The Mars Science City project falls within the UAE’s objectives to lead the global scientific race to take people to Mars, and is part of the Mars 2117 Strategy, launched during the fifth World Government Summit, which seeks to build the first settlement on Mars in the next 100 years.
“We also want to consolidate the passion for leadership in science in the UAE, contributing to improving life on earth and to developing innovative solutions to many of our global challenges,” he added.
Project
This project would include advanced laboratories that stimulate the red planet’s terrain and harsh environment through advanced 3D printing technology and heat and radiation insulation.
It seeks to attract the best scientific minds from around the world in a collaborative contribution in the UAE to human development and the improvement of life. It also seeks to address global challenges such as food, water and energy security on earth.
The plan for the Mars Science City project include an experiential element which would involve a team living in the stimulated red planet city for one year. It is hoped that the experience would form an important reference model for future innovation around sustaining life in a hostile planetary environment. A range of experiments are to be devised which will lead to innovation around self-sufficiency in energy, water and food.
The Mars Science City structure would be the most sophisticated building the world, and would incorporate a realistic simulation environment replicating the conditions on the surface of Mars.
The city would consist of several domes, with innovative construction techniques providing support for the structures. A team of Emirati scientists, engineers and designers, led by a team from the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre and Dubai Municipality, would carry out the project, in cooperation with internationally renowned architects Bjarke Ingels, the statement concluded.