The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) is to be profiled in The Connectors segment in CNN International’s programme Connect The World with Becky Anderson on Monday 29 February, 7pm UAE.
In the profile, CNN meets with some of scientists behind the Space Centre and their quest to launch the Arab World’s first Mars probe.
Salem Al Marri, Assistant Director General, Scientific & Technology Affairs, MBRSC, tells The Connectors: “We all grew up reading the history books. We know that most of the stars out there are named after Arabic names… so that shows you the impact that Arabic and Islamic scholars had on cosmology and sciences.”
He continues: “The Space Centre was established about 10 years ago. The Dubai government wanted to diversify further and go into science and technology. Our key focus from day one was that we need to depend on nationalising the industry… so we chose a team of very strong leaders – five or six people – who are now the leaders in our main projects here in the UAE.”
Mohammed Al Harmi, Director, Space Operations, explains: “It was one of our first goals to have Emirati engineers being capable of manufacturing satellites in the country. I moved to Korea April 29th 2006 – I lived there for almost eight years. The main purpose of us moving to Korea was to get the know-how technology transfer of manufacturing satellites and all sub-systems.
He continues: “Currently they are working on the flight-model of Khalifa-sat. Khalifa-sat is the first satellite that is being developed in the UAE by Emirati engineers.”
Adnan Mohammed Al Rais, Manager, Business Development and External Relations, tells CNN: “We are a non-profit organization, however after the launch of Dubai sat 1 and 2 ….we saw that we can commercialise our services… They are using our images for urban planning to plan the road networks in the country, the environment departments uses to study the vegetation in Dubai.”
Omran Sharaf, Project manager for the Emirates Mars Mission, tells CNN: “We were approached by the government and asked about the possibility and feasibility of going to Mars. They came to us and said… we want you to build something unique, it has to give back to humanity. Basically, the UAE has never been to Mars, there’s a lot of learning, we have to hit a lot of milestones and hit a lot of birds with one stone. Going to Mars is just a means…the main objective is to bring hope to the region – beyond the UAE – to inspire young Emiratis into the field of technology but also to the different nations that we have in the region.”
Salem Al Marri concludes the profile by telling CNN: “I think going forward we have to look at what is coming after Mars …that sustainable programme is what is going to get a young generation of scientists interested to work on Arab projects.”
The Connectors is a series of reports that explores the creative thinking behind some of the world’s most successful products, as well as the innovative business solutions shaping brands today. A new report airs each Monday on Connect the World with Becky Anderson to show a world-class creative team take audiences on a journey from idea to fruition.
