The UAE Moon mission has the power to “inspire the country and stimulate the economy”, Europe’s space chief said in Davos on Wednesday.
The UAE will attempt to land a rover on the celestial body in October in what will be the Arab world’s first mission to the Moon.
“Going to the Moon is a big step. But it has many aspects. One is, it unites a country. It inspires the people. It stimulates the economy and the industry that is producing the technology to do that,” said European Space Agency Director General Josef Aschbacher.
“And of course, people will be very proud when the moment happens. And I think this is something quite exciting,” he said.
The ESA is a long-time supporter of the UAE’s space ambitions and helped it train its first astronaut, Hazza Al Mansouri.
Last year, the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre and the ESA agreed to work on the establishment of a long-term collaboration.
Space travel a symbol of UAE progress
“The UAE is a very innovative country and is really driving technology and wants to be at the forefront,” said Mr Aschbacher.
“And space, of course, [this] is the symbol for exactly that. On our side, I see huge opportunities to really work together.
Mr Aschbacher spoke of a recent conversation he had at Davos with Sarah Al Amiri, Minister of State for Public Education and Future Technology and chairwoman of the UAE Space Agency.
“And after the formal panel session, we spoke and she said, ‘Look, I really would like to intensify this co-operation even further, because we would like to work more with Europe’,” he said.
“So, the European Space Agency and myself, I'm also very interested to work more and deeper with the UAE because it's … a new space country, with a lot of excellence. And I would be more than happy to deepen this co-operation.”
Agency focus on sustainability
The ESA is also working on sustainability in space, particularly where space junk and satellites are concerned.
While sustainability efforts are currently focused among EU member states, there will be a need to bring in more countries, said Mr Aschbacher.
“It's a big topic for us. So, I would like to propagate a sustainable use of our orbits or of space out there,” he added.
“And there's one initiative I am now starting with my member states is that we want to create a zero-debris policy in orbit, meaning that if you put a satellite up there, you have to get the satellite out in order to not pollute or not to overcrowd these orbits because they are finite in terms of, of dimensions.
“Policies in this direction are not yet decided. But that's certainly something I'm striving towards in order to have sustainability applied not only on the ground for climate change, but also up in space.”
The war in Ukraine has disrupted some of the ESA’s plans and projects as it is no longer working with Russia, a major space power.
“This is my day job at the moment, to make sure that untangling the co-operation with Russia is going according to plan,” he said.
“It will make us stronger, because we will be more independent and therefore building up our own capabilities.
“I'm very confident [this will take] maybe two or three years or so to build up this independence. But we will come out of this crisis stronger than before.”
The Europeans are also playing a key role in Nasa’s Artemis manned programme to explore the Moon.
“We are part of the SLS rocket. There is one very important element called the ‘European Service Module’, which is powering the Orion space capsule,” he said.
“And without that, the Moon mission cannot take place. You actually see it also on the rocket … there’s a national logo. There's also the ESA logo, which is proof to our strong co-operation.
“Therefore Nasa does rely on us, and I'm very proud of that and I'm very happy about that.”
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Uefa Champions League, last-16, second leg (first-leg scores in brackets):
PSG (2) v Manchester United (0)
Midnight (Thursday), BeIN Sports
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Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
EPL's youngest
- Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal)
15 years, 181 days old
- Max Dowman (Arsenal)
15 years, 235 days old
- Jeremy Monga (Leicester)
15 years, 271 days old
- Harvey Elliott (Fulham)
16 years, 30 days old
- Matthew Briggs (Fulham)
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Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
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Greatest Royal Rumble results
John Cena pinned Triple H in a singles match
Cedric Alexander retained the WWE Cruiserweight title against Kalisto
Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt win the Raw Tag Team titles against Cesaro and Sheamus
Jeff Hardy retained the United States title against Jinder Mahal
Bludgeon Brothers retain the SmackDown Tag Team titles against the Usos
Seth Rollins retains the Intercontinental title against The Miz, Finn Balor and Samoa Joe
AJ Styles remains WWE World Heavyweight champion after he and Shinsuke Nakamura are both counted out
The Undertaker beats Rusev in a casket match
Brock Lesnar retains the WWE Universal title against Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
Braun Strowman won the 50-man Royal Rumble by eliminating Big Cass last
Key changes
Commission caps
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.
• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
Bloomsbury Academic
if you go
The flights
Etihad, Emirates and Singapore Airlines fly direct from the UAE to Singapore from Dh2,265 return including taxes. The flight takes about 7 hours.
The hotel
Rooms at the M Social Singapore cost from SG $179 (Dh488) per night including taxes.
The tour
Makan Makan Walking group tours costs from SG $90 (Dh245) per person for about three hours. Tailor-made tours can be arranged. For details go to www.woknstroll.com.sg
The specs: 2018 Honda City
Price, base: From Dh57,000
Engine: 1.5L, in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Power: 118hp @ 6,600rpm
Torque: 146Nm @ 4,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 5.8L / 100km
