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Dubai's first space event takes off, highlights Mars mission

Dubai - The Science Event saw over 1,600 participants and played host to nearly 36 local and international researchers and experts

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The inaugural Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre Science (MBRSC) Event kicked off in Dubai on Saturday. The event is specifically targeted at the education, science and technology sectors within the UAE.
The event was held at the Etihad Museum under the theme 'Through space we flourish', and was attended by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the MBRSC; and Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and Chairman of the Education and Human Resources Council.
In his keynote speech titled 'Where am I in all this?', Sheikh Abdullah said both the Arab and Islamic civilisations had "supported the progress of the human development for 10 centuries".
"The past is very important as a source from which wisdom and noble values are inspired, and we must maintain the spirit of our present era.
"The successful, great, and influential people are those who understand the spirit of their era and interact with it, depending on the exigencies of their civilisation."
The Science Event saw a variety of scientific and technological workshops intended to nurture the culture of research and exploration. It saw over 1,600 participants and played host to nearly 36 local and international researchers and experts in space, science and technology.
"In the coming decades, the UAE will become the cradle of scientific discoveries and inventions in a number of areas. The UAE will be taking its place in history for its efforts to achieve a modern Arab renaissance in science and knowledge. Through space, we can eliminate limits and boundaries; increasing our scientific knowledge and achieving the highest levels of scientific research in space and advanced technology.

UAE's Mars city will promote exploration The Science Event boasted a large-scale three-dimensional model of the recently announced Mars Science City. The city was announced by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, as part of the Mars 2117 Programme. Once complete, the Mars Science City will be the largest space city to be built on Earth and will provide a viable model for future application on Mars. Saeed Al Gergawi, Program Director, Mars 2117 Programme - which is being undertaken by the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre - said: "The Mars Science City will promote the spirit of exploration. The labs will host scientific studies addressing the challenges of food, water and energy security, with the goal of achieving self-sufficiency, as well as testing human adaptability by simulating the extreme conditions of life on Mars."

The Mars probe
Sarah Al Amiri, Minister of State for Advanced Sciences and deputy project manager, Science lead of Emirates Mars Mission, gave an overview of the scientific objectives of the UAE's Mars probe. She explained how the Hope Probe will study the Mars' atmosphere, and how it will determine the components of the atmosphere and its composition despite the inability to see it with the naked eye.
Amiri also stated that the Hope Probe mission will investigate why Mars atmosphere is losing hydrogen and oxygen gases, and what the connection is between the lower and upper atmosphere of Mars.
Amiri shared information with the audience on how the probe will manoeuvre into Mars' wide elliptic orbit, between 22,000 and 44,000km away from the Martian surface, "enabling us to provide the first global picture of how the Martian atmosphere changes throughout the day, and between seasons".
In a session, Omran Sharaf, Project Manager of Emirates Mars Mission - Hope Probe, highlighted the experiences of developed countries in science and technology development. He explained how their economies transformed from agricultural or other natural resources based, to those based purely upon knowledge.
Sharaf said: "The science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, have played a vital role in this transformation, as they contribute to raising the quality of life."
reporters@khaleejtimes.com

Planting plants on 'Mars'
The event showcased an experiment on planting vegetable seeds in Martian sand simulant. The experiment aimed at monitoring the growth and production rates and comparing it with the production rates and times on Earth.
Students received planters with seeds, fertiliser, and Martian simulant to conduct this experiment at their homes, and they will document and share their results with the MBRSC's team through reports and pictures.
This test was a continuation to Mars Simulation Programme.