Space diplomacy key to UAE Mars mission

Space diplomacy is playing a vital role in the progress of the Emirates Mars Mission (EMM), Omran Sharaf, project manager of the mission, has said.

Speaking to Khaleej Times, Sharaf said exchanging knowledge with partners from different parts of the world is essential when it comes to EMM's progression. The EMM aims to launch an unmanned spacecraft named 'Hope' to Mars by July 2020, to coincide with the UAE's 50th anniversary. The space probe will gather data on the red planet's climate and atmosphere.

More than 75 Emirati engineers and researchers are working on the mission to launch the spacecraft. "This is the first time the UAE is going to Mars, so there's a lot of new knowledge and new experiences to be gained," Sharaf said on the sidelines of the High Level Forum by Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC). Sharaf said that EMM will be working with the University of Colorado Boulder and University of California Berkley for research to aid the spacecraft mission.

"As for the data we are trying to obtain, we are sending students and scientists from the UAE to different parts of the world to understand Martian data. They need to be prepared to analyse the data once it's received. After we reach Mars, we will be disseminating the data for free to the public." 

sarwat@khaleejtimes.com