Dubai’s first environmental nano-satellite vows to be climate change warrior

Dubai’s first environmental nano-satellite DMSat-1 is set to be the city’s partner in fighting climate change. Once in orbit, it will map out and trace the source of air pollutants and concentration of dust in the UAE and help the authorities gauge the impact on public health.

The Dubai Municipality’s DMSat-1 —the first satellite to be launched by a government entity in the emirate — is set to be launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 10.07am on Saturday, March 20. Engineers at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre(MBRSC) have already completed the final checks for the liftoff.

Besides collecting data on pollutants and greenhouse gases, DMSat-1 will also generate information that will be useful in urban planning and land use. It will support global efforts in preserving the environment and addressing climate change, engineers and scientists managing the project said on Tuesday.

Weighing only 15kg, DMSat-1 can perform tasks done by much larger 1,000kg satellites, said Adnan Al Rais, programme head of DMSat-1.

Alia Al Harmoudi, director of the environment department at the Dubai Municipality, added: “The advanced environmental monitoring system in the satellite will collect data from the atmosphere, and we are planning to build a space database which will strengthen our environmental future.”

Improving air quality is one of the main agendas in the UAE government’s Vision 2021, she added. “With DMSat-1, we hope to meet the targets set by the national agenda.”

dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com

Dhanusha Gokulan

Originally from India, Dhanusha Gokulan has been working as a journalist for 10 years. She has a keen interest in writing about issues that plague the common person and will never turn down a human interest story. She completed her Bachelor in Arts in Journalism, Economics and English Literature from Mangalore University in 2008. In her spare time, she dabbles with some singing/songwriting, loves travelling and Audible is her favourite mobile application. Tweet at her @wordjunkie88