Sharjah: Blasting off to Mars by 2021 will require the UAE to draft an enormous space exploration blueprint, say space exploration experts.
The UAE announced on Wednesday that it will be sending an unmanned spacecraft to Mars by 2021, coinciding with the country’s 50th anniversary. It was also announced that a UAE space agency will be created to supervise the mission and coordinate the country’s growing space technology.
Dr Farouk Al Baz, Director of the Centre for Space Research at Boston University, said the UAE will first need to train its local experts to prepare for the mission.
“The first team will mainly comprise engineers and not scientists who will design the instruments and equipment that will be used. These local talents will have to be trained in countries who have an adequate space programme.”
Al Baz, who worked with Nasa to assist in the planning of scientific explorations of the Moon, emphasised the importance of having local and not imported talent on the team.
“The most important thing is having something made in the Arab world, designed by Arab minds contributed by Arab engineers orbit or land on Mars to get additional information. Any mission from the Arab world that supports scientific advancement opening the doors for its people to contribute in the advancement of technology is important.”
Al Baz said the cost of the mission cannot be estimated accurately, because of the continuous increase of prices but he said it might cost hundreds of millions.
As for UAE’s space probe, he said it would probably be a device that orbits around Mars.
“Usually people begin with an orbiter, then they think about landing as it is more difficult. The third step would be sending a rover.”
Al Baz said the study of Mars is something all Arab countries should concentrate on because they both went through went through identical histories of evolution.
“Both lived under very different conditions in the past. They had quite a bit of rain, rivers, lakes and streams, then the weather changed and caused it to dry up, becoming a desert. In both cases the water seeped and was stored underground. In the case of Mars it froze because of the low temperatures and its distance from the sun.”
Al Baz said he was very happy that the government of the UAE had the vision and the interest in encouraging young generations of Emiratis to venture into advanced science and technology.
Human resource training
Professor Humaid Majol Al Nuaimi, President of the Arab Union for Astronomy and acting Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sharjah for Academic Affairs, said the 60-million-kilometre journey will require years of preparation and human resource training.
“The mission is a huge one, not only will it require hundreds of millions of dollars and years of preparation, it will also require a lot of training, as a huge team will be needed for the mission.”
He said in addition to space experts, the team will probably comprise chemical engineers, researchers, electrical engineers and mechanical engineers, to name a few.
For this reason, Al Nuaimi believes universities and high schools should consider providing programmes and sources related to the fields of astrophysics and space as he expects that it will not only stop at this particular mission and will, most probably, open doors to other expeditions and research in space technology.
“In the near future, we are planning on introducing courses at the University of Sharjah that will teach students about image space analysis of air sources to study the natural resources of planets’ air surfaces. Other universities and schools should also offer similar courses.”
“The most important outcome of this mission is the transfer of space technology to young people here. It will open their horizons and bring out their skills and talents in the fields of astronomy and space. This way a new generation, interested in science and research and astronomy, will emerge. ”
Space technology
He said studying the environment of Mar’s surface and looking for life such as bacteria and water is most important.
“It is the right time to take the step now because it will help in the country’s strategy, economy and science and technology development. If we look at what we are using today, whether it is smartphones, conference calls and computer technology, it all came from space technology. In the next couple of years it is going to be a resource that you cannot ignore.”
The mission will be led by Emiratis to expand the nation’s human capital through knowledge transfer from international partners. It will also increase human knowledge about space exploration and distant planets.
The UAE’s investments in space technologies already exceed Dh20 billion.
