How the UAE’s Mars mission can be the Arab world’s springboard to the future

The unmanned probe — named "Al-Amal," Arabic for "Hope" — blasted off from Japan last year, marking the next step in the United Arab Emirates' ambitious space program. (AFP/File Photo)
Short Url
Updated 16 February 2021
Follow

How the UAE’s Mars mission can be the Arab world’s springboard to the future

  • For the first time ever, an Arab nation has gone beyond applied science and technology to successfully engage in space exploration
  • If the Hope mission has a positive educational effect across the Arab world, it will be a transformative achievement

SHARJAH: The successful entry of the UAE’s Hope probe into orbit around Mars is a historic event on the scientific, educational, and strategic levels. Indeed, for the first time ever, an Arab nation has gone beyond applied space science and technology (satellites, essentially) and successfully invested and engaged in space exploration.

It is important to underline the mission’s wider and embracing slogan, “Arabs to Mars,” which stresses the idea that this project is greater than just the UAE joining a select club of space-faring nations. It is about leading the Arab world into deep space, into the future.

Now that Hope probe is set for its scientific agenda and the UAE is set to become a science-producing nation in the space arena, it is important to reflect on the significance of this event for the Arab world and the vistas that it opens for its people.

As great as the scientific agenda of the mission is (providing in-depth, close-up, and global explorations of the Martian atmosphere), the impact that this is likely to have on the Arab world, particularly its ambitious youth, will be multifaceted and strong.




Emirati men are pictured at the mission control center for the "Hope" Mars probe at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre in Dubai on July 19, 2020, ahead of its expected launch from Japan.  (AFP/File Photo)

Indeed, this quantum-leap event tells Arabs — or at least this is how it should be understood — that science is the way to the future, and Mars (with all the scientific and technical know-how that will have been acquired) is simply a springboard to that future.

Since the launch of Hope, last July, followed by the Chinese mission to Mars, Tianwen-1, and the American one, Mars 2020, I have noticed an important change in the views expressed by many Arabs and people in the region.

Until then, most people seemed bewildered by the “wasteful” Hope mission (although $200 million is really not much for such a big endeavor) and often asked “what’s the benefit in there?”, “why don’t you spend money helping the poor around the world.”

Indeed, the utilitarian standpoint is so prevalent in the Arab world that last July, two weeks before the launch of Hope, I took part in a panel titled “Why spend money on space science?”, a question I am asked time and again.




H-2A rocket carrying the Hope Probe, known as "Al-Amal" in Arabic, developed by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to explore Mars, blasts off from Tanegashima Space Centre in southwestern Japan. (AFP/Mitsubishi Heavy Industries/File Photo)

My reply, depending on my interlocutors or audience, usually revolves around the following points. First, before anyone criticizes space-science budgets (a grand total of roughly $50 billion in the whole world, averaging $6.5 per year for each human being), they should take a look at military budgets ($1,750 billion worldwide in 2019, 35 times more than the worldwide space budget).

Secondly, space science brings many direct benefits (think of all the applications of satellites, starting with GPS, which each of us uses almost every day) as well as indirect ones, as we explore, discover, learn, widen our horizons, and think of new things.

Last but not least, space is a field that fascinates people, especially youngsters, and leads them to embark on various exciting careers that benefit their nations and the world at large.

READ MORE: UAE’s ‘Hope’ probe sends home first image of Mars

UAE Hope Probe expected to provide first complete picture of Mars in one week

Interestingly, since the launch of Hope, I have been hearing the “why waste money on Mars and in space” viewpoint less often. Surveys on attitudes toward science, technology, and space are being conducted in the region, and it will be highly interesting to see how those attitudes have evolved recently and will evolve in the future.

It is worth noting that in the decade following John Kennedy’s “to the moon” announcement, the number of Ph.D. holders in the US tripled in the physical sciences and quadrupled in engineering. And a 2009 survey found that 50 percent of the internationally renowned scientists who have published in Nature (the premier scientific research journal) had been inspired to become scientists by the US moon program.

I am convinced that the Hope mission will have a similar effect in the Arab world. We are already seeing such results in the UAE, where the number of students who are choosing physics, astronomy, and space has increased manifold in recent years.




Visitors watch an air craft maintenance competition during the "World Skills" International competition in Abu Dhabi on October 18, 2017. (AFP/File Photo)

If the Hope mission produces that kind of educational effect in the wider Arab world, it will be a magnificent, transformative achievement that historians will be discussing for decades or even centuries.

In fact, I believe that the project can achieve even greater objectives than that lofty educational goal. It could also lead to a quantum leap in science and technology production in the Arab world.

How could that be achieved? First, Arab scientists, decision makers, and opinion makers need to embrace the “basic” (that is, not applied) type of science and knowledge that space exploration represents. Simply put, Arab countries cannot become “developed” by limiting their development to applied fields; technology goes hand in hand with science, and with broader knowledge.

It is not a coincidence that astronomy (which has little if any direct applications in our everyday lives) was the first big science to blossom and flourish during the Arab-Islamic civilization and the last one to wane. And yet, today, the number of properly operating and science-producing astronomical observatories in the entire Arab world can be counted on the fingers of one hand.

Most Arab countries have locations and weather that favor the erection of astronomical observatories, which are not very expensive; this should be pursued promptly and in earnest.

Likewise, several Arab countries, particularly the UAE and Oman, are geographically well placed (low latitude, sea or ocean to the east, etc.) to host space rocket launch facilities. This could be one of the next projects to embark on, to build platforms from where to launch both our own rockets and those of others (for profit).




A handout picture provided on February 14, 2021 by the United Arab Emirates Space Agency (UAESA) taken by the Emirates eXploration Imager (EXI) after Mars Orbit Insertion (MOI) on board the First Emirates Mars Mission (EMM) from an altitude of 24,700 km above the Martian surface shows the Olympus Mons, the highest volcano on Mars, and the Tharsis Montes, three volcanoes named (top to bottom) Ascraeus Mons, Pavonis Mons and Arsia Mons. (AFP/File Photo)

Moreover, as we have seen with NASA for the last 60 years or so, technological spin-offs from space programs can be adopted and applied in other areas of life and economy, such as medical facilities, transportation, telecommunications, and more.

Last but not least, the new Arab space strategy (at least six states have space agencies now) should lead to important reviews of Arab educational programs. Universities must revisit, update, and upgrade their curricula, including the creation of new departments and specializations (space science, artificial intelligence, etc).

It is not acceptable, or even logical, for the Arab world to have half a dozen space agencies but fewer space-science departments and specialized programs.

We urgently need to train students in both applied space science (for example, remote sensing) and astronomy (Mars and beyond), to support and complement the work of the Arab space agencies. In fact, we need a wider update and revamping of higher-education programs in the Arab world, but that is another discussion.

The Hope mission to Mars can be truly transformative if everyone aims high and believes that science is the key to a knowledge-based economy and future. Let us use this historic event to rebuild Arab scientific, technological, and educational institutions, to strengthen national, regional and international collaborations, and to give Arab youngsters a vision and plan for a bright future.

---------------------

Nidhal Guessoum is a professor of physics and astronomy at the American University of Sharjah. Twitter: @NidhalGuessoum


Iran says deal can be reached if US shows goodwill

Updated 4 sec ago
Follow

Iran says deal can be reached if US shows goodwill

TEHRAN: Iran’s top diplomat said Tuesday he believed a new nuclear deal could be agreed with the United States provided Tehran’s longtime foe shows sufficient goodwill in talks to begin in Oman on Saturday.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran’s principal aim remained the lifting of sweeping US sanctions. Their reimposition by President Donald Trump in 2018 has dealt a heavy blow to the Iranian economy.
Trump made the surprise announcement that his administration would open talks with Iran during a White House meeting on Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose country is an arch foe of Tehran.
Trump said the talks would be “direct” but Araghchi insisted his negotiations with US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff on Saturday would be “indirect.”
“We will not accept any other form of negotiation,” Araghchi told official media. “The format of the negotiations... is not the most important thing in my view. What really counts is the effectiveness or otherwise of the talks.
“If the other side shows enough of the necessary willingess, a deal can be found... The ball is in America’s court.”
Speaking Monday in the Oval Office, Trump said he was hopeful of reaching a deal with Tehran, but warned that the Islamic republic would be in “great danger” if the talks failed.
“We’re dealing with the Iranians, we have a very big meeting on Saturday and we’re dealing with them directly,” Trump told reporters.
Trump’s announcement came after Iran dismissed direct negotiations on a new deal to curb the country’s nuclear activities, calling the idea pointless.
The US president pulled out of the last deal in 2018, during his first presidency, and there has been widespread speculation that Israel, possibly with US help, might attack Iranian facilities if no new agreement is reached.
Trump issued a stern warning to Tehran, however.
“I think if the talks aren’t successful with Iran, I think Iran’s going to be in great danger, and I hate to say it, great danger, because they can’t have a nuclear weapon,” he said.
In an interview with US network NBC late last month. Trump went further. “If they don’t make a deal, there will be bombing,” he said.
China and Russia held consultations with Iran in Moscow on Tuesday, after which the Kremlin welcomed the planned talks.
Key Iranian ally Russia welcomed the prospect of negotiations for a new nuclear accord to replace the deal with major powers that was unilaterally abandoned by Trump in 2018.
“We know that certain contacts — direct and indirect — are planned in Oman. And, of course, this can only be welcomed because it can lead to de-escalation of tensions around Iran,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that Moscow “absolutely” supported the initiative.
China called on the United States to “stop its wrong practice of using force to exert extreme pressure” after Trump threatened Iran with bombing if it fails to agree a deal.
“As the country that unilaterally withdrew from the comprehensive agreement on the Iran nuclear issue and caused the current situation, the United States should demonstrate political sincerity (and)... mutual respect,” its foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said.
Washington should “participate in dialogue and consultation, and at the same time stop its wrong practice of using force to exert extreme pressure,” Lin added.
The Israeli prime minister, whose government has also threatened military action against Iran to prevent it developing a nuclear weapon, held talks with Witkoff as well as Trump on Monday.
Netanyahu was a bitter opponent of the 2015 agreement between Iran and Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States which Trump later abandoned.
That deal saw Iran receive relief from international sanctions in return for restrictions on its nuclear activities overseen by the UN watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Trump’s withdrawal from the deal was followed by an Iranian decision one year later to stop complying with its own obligations under the deal.
The result has been that Iran has built up large stocks of highly enriched uranium that leave it a short step from weapons grade.
In its latest quarterly report in February, the IAEA said Iran had an estimated 274.8 kilograms (605 pounds) of uranium enriched to up to 60 percent. Weapons grade is around 90 percent.

World bank approves $1.1 billion in new financing to support Jordan

Updated 16 min 31 sec ago
Follow

World bank approves $1.1 billion in new financing to support Jordan

AMMAN: The World Bank said on Monday it approved $1.1 billion in new financing to support Jordan's economy in the face of external shocks.
The bank said the financing bolsters the country's IMF-led reforms focused on four areas that aim to accelerate growth, create jobs and invest in sustainable energy projects.


King Abdullah of Jordan receives Greek Melkite Patriarch of Antioch and All the East

Updated 55 min ago
Follow

King Abdullah of Jordan receives Greek Melkite Patriarch of Antioch and All the East

  • King Abdullah emphasized the need to maintain a Christian presence in the Middle East
  • Patriarch Youssef Absi acknowledged Jordan’s role in overseeing Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem

LONDON: King Abdullah II of Jordan received the Greek Melkite Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, Youssef Absi, on Tuesday in Amman.

King Abdullah emphasized the need to maintain a Christian presence in the Middle East, along with Jordan’s support for Syria’s security and stability to ensure the rights of all faith groups.

Patriarch Absi acknowledged Jordan’s role in overseeing Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, commending Jordan’s support for Palestinians and King Abdullah’s efforts in protecting the presence of Eastern Christians in the Middle East.

He said Jordan is a role model for coexistence and respect for Christian communities, the Petra news agency reported.

Crown Prince Hussein and Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad, who advises King Abdullah on religious and cultural affairs, attended the meeting. Also present were the director of the king’s office, Alaa Batayneh, and the heads of the Melkite Greek Catholic churches in Jordan, Jerusalem, and Lebanon.


Macron tours Egypt aid outpost for Gaza

Updated 08 April 2025
Follow

Macron tours Egypt aid outpost for Gaza

  • Macron was in El-Arish, 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of the Gaza Strip
  • The French president said he would meet with sick Palestinians and medical professionals in El-Arish

EL-ARISH: French President Emmanuel Macron visited Egypt’s port city of El-Arish on Tuesday, a key transit point for Gaza-bound aid, to call on Israel to lift restrictions on humanitarian access to the war-battered Palestinian territory.
An AFP journalist said Macron was in El-Arish, 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of the Gaza Strip, along with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
Macron, who arrived in Cairo on Sunday, has said he would meet with sick Palestinians and medical professionals in El-Arish, an “outpost of humanitarian support for the civilian population of Gaza.”
The French leader is also expected to tour Red Crescent warehouses and meet with UN and aid representatives.
In a symbolic stop on his Egypt tour, Macron will call for “the reopening of crossing points for the delivery of humanitarian goods into Gaza,” a presidency statement said.
Israel cut off aid to Gaza in early March, during an impasse in negotiations to extend a truce with Hamas, whose October 7, 2023 attack triggered the war.
Later in March, after a two-month truce, Israel resumed intense bombardment across the Gaza Strip and restarted ground operations.
In Cairo, Macron, El-Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah II called for an “immediate return” to the ceasefire.
The three leaders met on Monday to discuss the war and humanitarian efforts to alleviate the suffering of Gaza’s 2.4 million people, the vast majority of whom have been displaced at least once during the war.
In a joint statement on Monday, the heads of several UN agencies said many Gazans are “trapped, bombed and starved again, while, at crossing points, food, medicine, fuel and shelter supplies are piling up, and vital equipment is stuck” outside of the besieged territory.


Dubai crown prince makes first official visit to India

Updated 08 April 2025
Follow

Dubai crown prince makes first official visit to India

  • Sheikh Hamdan is scheduled to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi

DUBAI: Dubai’s Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al-Maktoum arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday morning, leading a high-level delegation on his first official visit to India.

He was received at Indira Gandhi International Airport by India’s Minister of Tourism and Petroleum and Natural Gas Suresh Gopi, with an official reception held in his honor.

During the visit, Sheikh Hamdan is scheduled to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior officials to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation across key sectors.

The visit reflects the UAE’s commitment to expanding strategic partnerships and promoting innovation and collaboration with global allies.