Reaching for the Red Planet

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Title: Reaching for the Red Planet
Author: ANALISA R. BALA
Publication: F&D Magazine
Date: September 2023
Summary point: The United Arab Emirates honors the visionary behind the country’s ambitious space program; the article highlights the UAE’s Mars mission, commemorative 1,000 dirham note, and broader national vision for space research and youth engagement.
Note on opinions: "Opinions expressed in articles and other materials are those of the authors; they do not necessarily reflect IMF policy."

In 2020, the United Arab Emirates’ space agency launched its first mission to Mars.
The spacecraft is called “Hope.”
The spacecraft was the first from an Arab nation to reach the red planet and is currently in orbit for one Martian year—the equivalent of 687 days on Earth—providing scientists a complete picture of the Martian atmosphere.
The country is the fifth to reach Mars.
The UAE is only the second in the world (after India) to successfully launch a probe into orbit on the first attempt.
The Mars mission was accomplished just six years after forming a space agency.
In December 2022, the UAE launched the Arab world's first lunar rover.
The UAE’s 1,000 dirham note depicting the Mars mission went into circulation in December 2022 and was named “Best New Banknote” at the High Security Printing EMEA Conference for its design and advanced security features.

Long-term goal: To be the first country to build a sustainable colony on the red planet in the next 100 years.
Motivation quoted from Omran Sharaf (Mars mission project manager, 2019 TEDx Talk): “The oil age will not end because we run out of oil,” he said, “it will end because of progress...It’s about survival.”
The vision is inspired by the UAE’s founding father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who invested heavily in the sciences and aimed to make the country a hub for space research and innovation.

Sheikh Zayed met with astronauts from several of the Apollo missions throughout the 1970s and was gifted a sliver of moon rock by US President Richard Nixon.
The latest 1,000 dirham note depicts Sheikh Zayed looking at the UAE’s Hope space shuttle and includes a portrait of an astronaut in the security foil on the front and back.
The note’s imagery and issuance symbolize national pride and the country’s space achievements.

About 90 percent of the Emirati Mars team is younger than 35.
A third of the Emirati Mars team are women.
The space program’s success is presented as a message to the region’s youth, aligned with Sheikh Zayed’s goal of instilling a love of science in young people.
Quoted encouragement from Sharaf: “If the UAE is able to reach Mars in less than 50 years,” Sharaf said, “you [the youth] can do much more.”

Source: Reaching for the Red Planet, F&D Magazine, ANALISA R. BALA, September 2023.

Reaching for the Red Planet
- Reaching for the Red Planet (Markdown version)
- Reaching for the Red Planet (PDF)