First Emirati in space encourages us to always reach for the stars
At 5:57 p.m. on Sept. 25, 2019, the UAE proudly dispatched its first astronaut into space. © Image Credit: tomertu/Shutterstock.com
The day was met with nation-wide festivity: Schools celebrated with space-themed activities, and encouraged children to wear astronaut suits. Thousands of space enthusiasts and families congregated in designated halls to see the live broadcast of the Soyuz Mission MS-15 blasting off from its base in Kazakhstan to the International Space Station (ISS).
The moment the spacecraft took off, the nation held its breath, swelled with pride, hope, and inspiration. We all waited until, eight minutes later, astronaut Hazza Al-Mansouri entered orbit.
The UAE has made history, serving as a beacon of light and reaffirming the belief that all dreams are possible with determination and knowledge. In a tweet, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, hailed the moment as: “A national achievement and a message to the youth in the Arab world that nothing is impossible.”
The UAE Astronaut Program was announced in 2017 and is the first in the Arab world. It aims to train a cadre of astronauts who can embark on various scientific missions, in addition to contributing to space exploration, inspiring young generations to pursue education in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) subjects, and positioning the UAE as a key international player in manned space missions.
The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre received 4,022 applications and after a series of assessments, chose Al-Mansouri as the primary astronaut and Dr. Sultan Al-Neyadi as the secondary.
The mission is part of an agreement made between the center and the Russian Space Agency, Roscosmos. Al-Mansouri’s eight-day trip will include scientific experiments, such as conducting Earth observation and imaging, studying the effect of microgravity compared to Earth’s gravity, interacting and sharing information with ground stations, and undergoing brief medical experiments to study the effects of space on the human body.
He will also prepare a traditional Emirati dinner consisting of salona, madrouba, and balaleet for his crew mates, and will present a tour of the ISS in Arabic.
The UAE is currently among the top nine countries in the world that invest in space exploration. The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre is currently working on developing the Hope Mars Missions, a space exploration probe due to reach the red planet by 2021, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the founding of the UAE.
The probe will examine the daily climate and weather events in different geographic areas of Mars and will provide an extensive understanding of the Martian atmosphere. All data collected will be circulated to 200 universities and research institutes across the world for the purpose of knowledge dissemination. It will be the first mission to Mars by an Arab country.
Additionally, the UAE has announced its ambitious Mars 2117 mission, in which it plans on having the first human colony on Mars. Although this might sound incredulous today, it is exactly this leap of faith that is needed to pursue humanity’s deep fascination with the unexplored realms of our universe, to answer a myriad of questions about our existence in the galaxies, and to push the limits of scientific exploration.
Indeed, many nations have invested in space exploration for decades. Since humanity’s first space activity in 1957, we have seen astronauts landing on the moon, hundreds of flights into space, construction of the ISS, the establishment of more than 2,000 commercial space companies and the launch of over 8,100 objects into space. Last year, the industry achieved $277 billion in global revenues.
Space exploration has led to over 2,000 discoveries that have since improved life on Earth, including in transportation, consumer goods, energy, the environment, information technology, medicine and public safety. For example, satellites transmit accurate weather predictions, which allow governments, industries, and people to work efficiently and save thousands of lives each year via early warnings.
Earth observation technology also allows scientists to monitor natural resources, such as agricultural production, fisheries, freshwater and forestry management. Not only that, but space communication capabilities have also allowed the entire globe to communicate via long-distance national phone calls, satellite TV, radio, and location-based services built into mobile phones and applications.
And yet, the future holds even more possibilities. By keeping a mind as expansive as the universe, we can surely reach for the stars. As writer Victor Hugo once said, “There is nothing like a dream to create the future.”
Published in Arab News.