United Arab Emirates Space Agency

The United Arab Emirates' interest in astronomy and space sciences dates back to the 1970s when His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan met with the NASA team responsible for the Apollo moon landing. This encounter sparked a national focus on space, eventually leading to the birth of a national space sector with the establishment of Thuraya Telecommunications Company in 1997 and Al Yah Satellite Communications (Yahsat) in 2007.

In February 2006, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, launched the Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology, aiming to promote space science and scientific research in the UAE. In April 2015, it was merged with the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre.

The UAE Space Agency was established by federal decree in 2014 with the goal of developing the national space sector. The agency is responsible for establishing partnerships, assisting academic programs, advancing national and regional space exploration, and investing in research, development, and commercial space projects.

The UAE uses advanced technology in satellite communications services, with satellites in orbit specializing in various applications: mobile communications, satellite photography, television broadcasting, Internet, communications, radio, and military purposes.^{[citation needed]}

The space sector is one of the strategic areas outlined by the Higher Policy for Science, Technology, and Innovation. It focuses on the exploration of celestial bodies, the development of communication and satellite technology, and the application of the latest space technologies for terrestrial uses.^{[citation needed]}

In August 2024 the UAE launched its first SAR satellite.^[2]

The space agency has gathered about US$5.2 billion of funding from government, private, and semi-private entities.^[3]

1. Attracting Talent and Enhancing R&D:
   • Attract quality competencies and enhance productivity in research and development within space programs.
2. Enabling Space Services and Applications:
   • Promote the space services sector and its applications, encouraging their use to improve government efficiency and private sector competitiveness.
3. Creating a Business-Friendly Regulatory Environment:
   • Establish a regulatory framework that attracts businesses and increases investment opportunities in the space sector.
4. Developing Space Capabilities:
   • Develop space capabilities and facilitate the transfer of knowledge from the space sector to other industries.
5. Enhancing Space Technology Infrastructure:
   • Improve the infrastructure for space technology to enable private sector innovation and competitiveness.
6. Governance and Legislative Support:
   • Govern the space legislative environment to support a sustainable national economy.
7. Building International Partnerships:
   • Build a system of international partnerships to facilitate knowledge transfer and enhance the country's capabilities in science and technology.^{[citation needed]}

The Agency is involved in directing, investing in, and promoting a number of initiatives. The UAE has launched prior to the existence of the Agency commercial satellites constructed by EADS (YahSat 1A and 1B), Boeing (Thuraya 1, 2 and 3) and MBRSC DubaiSat-1 and DubaiSat-2, developed as part of a technology transfer programme with South Korea's Satrec Initiative, resulting in an existing space sector investment of some $5.5 billion.^[4]

The $27 million Al-Ain based Space Research Centre was announced on 25 May 2015. The centre is intended as an incubator for space research, development, and innovation. It will be involved in coordinating with a number of agencies, including the Emirates Mobile Observatory.^[4]

The Emirates Mars Mission is being undertaken by the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, a Government of Dubai entity.^[5] The UAE successfully launched the Mars Hope mission to Mars on 19 July 2020. Mission goals include creating the first holistic diurnal picture of Mars' atmosphere with three science instruments mounted on an orbiter which is aimed to reach Mars orbit in early 2021. On 9 February 2021, it successfully put its probe into orbit around Mars.^[6] The Centre employs 75 people which the UAE government hopes to double by 2022.^[7]

The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre announced on June 25, 2024, they successfully completed phase 2 of the Mars mission. The announcement came after a 45-day simulated Mars journey at US Space Agency NASA. During that time Dr Al Romaithi conducts 18 scientific experiments under UAE Analog Programme.^[8]

On 29 September 2020, Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum announced the UAE's uncrewed mission to the Moon in 2024, as the country was seeking to expand its space sector. Sheikh Mohammed also said that the rover named "Rashid", after his father who is credited with modernizing Dubai, will cover "areas not yet reached in previous exploration missions".^[9] On 14 April 2021, MBRSC announced that the schedule had been moved up to send the rover to the Moon by 2022, rather than 2024.^[10] On 25 April 2023, seconds before an attempted landing, communication with the lander was lost.^[11] The ispace team confirmed that the spacecraft had crashed into the Moon and was thus destroyed.^[12][13]

In May 2015, an MoU was signed by Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat), the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology and Orbital ATK Inc to create a Degree Programme in Advanced Space Science, the first such course of study in the Middle East. These three entities, with co-ordination and oversight from the UAE Space Agency, will launch the academic programme at Masdar Institute.

In May 2023, UAE Space Agency announced a mission to the asteroid belt, that is planned to be launched in 2028. It will visit 7 asteroids 10253 Westerwald, 623 Chimaera, 13294 Rockox, 88055, 23871, 59980, and attempt to land on 269 Justitia in 2034.^[14][15][16]

The mission aims to add to our understanding of the foundation of our solar system and the presence and origins of the building blocks of life found in the asteroid belt, as well as lay the ground for possible future resource extraction from asteroids.

• Unveiling the Secrets of the Asteroid Belt: The Emirates Mission (EMA)
  • The EMA is a groundbreaking mission venturing into the main asteroid belt to explore and study multiple asteroids. It's not just about scientific discovery, but also a catalyst for the UAE's space industry.
  • EMA delves into the origins and composition of our solar system, searching for the fundamental building blocks of life within the asteroid belt. Additionally, the mission paves the way for potential future resource extraction from these celestial bodies.
• Fueling Innovation and Growth
  • EMA is committed to fostering a thriving space sector in the UAE. By allocating 50% of the project to local companies, it aims to create substantial economic opportunities, spur Emirati startups, and attract international partnerships and investments. This ambitious endeavor is supported by the nearly $1 billion UAE Space Fund.
• A 13-Year Journey of Discovery
  • The mission spans 13 years, with a six-year spacecraft development phase followed by a seven-year voyage to the main asteroid belt beyond Mars. The "MBR Explorer" spacecraft will conduct a series of close flybys of seven asteroids, gathering invaluable data during these encounters.
• Launching into the Unknown
  • Scheduled for a March 2028 launch within a narrow three-week window, the MBR Explorer embarks on a 5-billion-kilometer journey. Gravity assist maneuvers from Venus, Earth, and Mars will optimize its trajectory for the flyby campaign. The first asteroid encounter is expected in February 2030, marking the beginning of an extensive exploration within the asteroid belt.

• Leverage UAE private sector
• Train and prepare UAE capabilities
• Establish international partnerships
• Develop academic engineering and scientific programs
• Transfer knowledge and know-how

• Design a unique mission and should aim for advances in fundamental science and demonstrations of technology
• Educate through outreach programs
• Sustain the UAE's outer space exploration program
• Contribute through UAE engineers and scientists
• Develop the science and technology commercial sector
• Create sustainable science and technology initiatives

• Sarah Al Amiri
• List of government space agencies