A UAE space chief has hailed the "boundless potential" of the Hope probe after the latest findings from its orbit of Mars were shared with the world.
A fourth collection of scientific data, amassed between December 2021 and February, includes new insights into the planet's atmosphere.
The 118.5 gigabytes of information and images brings the total released by the probe to 688.5 gigabytes.
Hope's ultraviolet spectrometer was able to provide better coverage of the Red Planet's aurora and successfully observe its solar energetic particles and galactic cosmic rays.
In June 2021, the spacecraft captured rare images of the discrete aurora in Mars’ night side atmosphere.
The findings offered support to scientists seeking to better understand the interactions between solar radiation, the planet's magnetic fields and the atmosphere.
On Earth, the aurora borealis and aurora polaris (known as the Northern Lights) happen when protons and electrons from solar winds hit particles in the atmosphere, causing colourful lights in the sky.
A journey of discovery
Omran Sharaf, project director of Emirates Mars Mission, said the latest findings demonstrated the probe's ability to propel Red Planet research.
“We are thrilled to share the latest observations with the global scientific community," he said.
"As the Probe continues its planned mission to orbit around Mars, we will continue to identify ways in which we can enrich our discoveries and observations to deliver above and beyond our mission, to further enhance the international community’s knowledge and understanding of the Red Planet, and to bolster the UAE’s position in the global space domain.”
Hessa Al Matroushi, Emirates Mars Mission science lead, said the latest data shows there is still "much to discover" about the planet.
“The recent coverage from the Mars Hope probe is a tremendous feat and is evidence of the boundless potential that our instruments have in achieving science beyond what it was designed for," she said.
"The latest insights on Mars and its atmosphere reaffirm that there is much to discover, and we are looking forward to seeing the mission’s objectives of providing useful scientific data, enhancing national capabilities and fostering global collaboration come to fruition with every new data collected.”
The spacecraft entered the orbit of Mars on February 9, 2021 with a goal of studying the planet's dynamic weather system and atmospheric conditions.
The mission was developed by Emirati engineers and researchers, in collaboration with three US universities: the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Arizona and the University of California, Berkeley.
The crucial data beamed back to Earth by Hope aims to help scientists better understand the planet, including what causes hydrogen and oxygen to escape from its upper atmosphere.
Hope is also studying the relation between the higher and lower atmospheres of Mars, as well phenomena such as the planet’s intense dust storms.
The spacecraft tracked an enormous dust storm for two weeks, helping to show how quickly these can spread across the planet.
Data from the orbit of Mars is shared publicly by Emirates Mars Mission every three months.
To date, 1.7 terabytes of this data has been downloaded.
UAE Hope probe - in pictures
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Springtime in a Broken Mirror,
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Results for Stage 2
Stage 2 Yas Island to Abu Dhabi, 184 km, Road race
Overall leader: Primoz Roglic SLO (Team Jumbo - Visma)
Stage winners: 1. Fernando Gaviria COL (UAE Team Emirates) 2. Elia Viviani ITA (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) 3. Caleb Ewan AUS (Lotto - Soudal)
