UAE Mars Mission: Youth offered hope in unstable region

The UAE’s landmark mission to Mars has been a key driver of positive change in what was “once a highly unstable region”, an Emirati minister has said.

Sarah Al Amiri, Minister of State for Advanced Technology and chair of the UAE Space Agency, said the Emirates Mars Mission was intended to inspire Arab youth.

A spacecraft called Hope was launched on July 20 last year and is expected to reach Mars on February 9, as part of the Arab world's first interplanetary mission.

If successful, it will help the UAE become part of an elite club of nations to reach the Red Planet.

“We understood jointly what this mission could do for the region at that time – that was close to mid-2014 when this region was highly unstable,” Ms Al Amiri said during a virtual media briefing on Thursday.

"It resounded to all of us that this mission could provide a value proposition that is different from extremism, turmoil and instability.

“So, we started on this journey of ‘let’s build a space mission to Mars’ and it’s truly been a journey of building a family of individuals who think differently, but have a joint purpose.

"That has allowed us to reach to the point that we're at today.”

Parts of the Middle East region were highly unstable in 2014. Iraq was on the brink of civil war; ISIS, aided by its recruitment of foreign fighters, had a foothold in Syria; and there was a refugee crisis in Lebanon and Jordan as Syrians fled the fighting.

The region continues to face challenges, but Ms Al Amiri said she believed the growing space sector has created a positive change.

“We have seen a lot of interest at the level of space agencies and representatives of space sectors across the Arab world on how we created our own niche in space and why that’s important," she said.

"That interest has been increasing, especially after the Emirates Mars Mission.

"Also – and this is more anecdotal within the circle of people in the Arab region who I've had discussions with – they were speculating on whether we would be able to achieve this objective.

"For them, it has been a reality check on what is possible from this region and how we can create positive change.

"I think a lot of the youth – especially over the  past six to seven years – have been really frustrated with instability and are looking for the creation of stability."

Emiratis make up most of the UAE’s space sector personnel, but Ms Al Amiri said they would be hiring three other Arabs to help with the country’s development efforts in space.

The UAE also helped form the Arab Space Co-operation Group, an organisation of space agencies from various Arab countries.

Its formation is intended to help increase collaboration in the region.

Aside from the Mars mission, the Emirates has also announced plans for a lunar mission, growing its astronaut corps and sending more Emiratis into space.

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