UNIPATH STAFF
As part of the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE’s) contribution to global space research, the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre launched a rocket carrying the country’s first probe to Mars.
The Hope Probe blasted off in July 2020 from Tanegashima Space Center in Japan. The solar-powered probe was built by the UAE Space Agency in cooperation with scientists at several U.S. universities.
The 1,350-kilogram probe, made mostly of aluminum, will orbit the red planet gathering data on how Mars’ thin atmosphere retains and circulates gases such as oxygen.
The United Arab Emirates has become a model for many states, thanks to its good governance and steady economic development. About three decades ago, the Emirates began to diversify its national economy away from a reliance on petroleum revenue.
After establishing one of the world’s largest free trade zones in 1985 — the Jebel Ali Free Zone in Dubai — the UAE attracted billions of dollars in foreign investment. The country offered investors huge incentives to relocate to the Arabian Gulf, creating a safe business climate for entrepreneurship to flourish.
The country’s seven-year strategic plan for innovation aims to place the UAE among the top nations for scientific development. Space research is one of the pillars of that plan, and the Mars flight proves how far the nation has come in embracing advanced technology.
UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan announced the Mars mission in July 2014, expressing a desire to promote science and engineering throughout the Arab World. A prototype of the Hope Probe took center stage at the 2017 Dubai Airshow.
“We will prove that we are capable of delivering new scientific contributions to humanity,” Sheikh Khalifa said.
The UAE Space Agency provides support for scientific research and discoveries. One of its subsidiaries is the National Center for Space Science and Technology at the United Arab Emirates University, which operates in collaboration with the General Authority for Communications Regulation.
The space agency has created partnerships with international institutions such as the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Colorado and Arizona State University.
Sources: NASA, UAE Space Agency