Tuesday, Jan 31, 2017

Abu Dhabi: Dr Khalifa Al Rumaithi, chairman of the UAE Space Agency, reiterated the UAE’s interest in space tourism on the sidelines of the Global Space Congress in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.

“Increased activities in the space sector will support many other sectors,” Dr Khalifa Al Rumaithi, chairman of the UAE Space Agency, told Gulf News in an interview.

“Space tourism is on our agenda. However, no timeframe has been announced in this regard,” Dr Al Rumaithi said.

He said increased activities in the space sector, including the Emirates Mars Mission that is working on launching the Hope probe in July 2020, will give a fillip to many related sectors, including space tourism.

“Mars Mission is very important to the UAE. It is like a bridge to new technology,” Dr Al Rumaithi said. The mission will inspire more people, especially youngsters, to work in the space sector. “We always try to attract youngsters to the space sector.” He said the agency was satisfied with young Emiratis’ enthusiasm in the space sector.

“It is proven fact that space technology supports other industries. The mobile phone you are using is through satellites [built by space sector],” Al Rumaithi said. The experiments done on the space can also be applied to many sectors on the ground, which will help the UAE’s overall progress, he added.

The UAE Space Agency had said in December 2016 that the upcoming UAE space laws would facilitate all space-related projects, including the Mars Mission and space tourism.

The regulations are very important to facilitate space tourism. “You can’t have space tourism without space laws. We will address this,” Mohammad Nasser Al Ahbabi, director-general of the UAE Space Agency, had said.

Expected to be announced within a few months, the UAE laws to regulate the space sector will facilitate the UAE’s ambitious Mars Mission in 2020.

Al Ahbabi had said technology alone was not enough for all space-related activities. The laws are essential to undertake all space projects. The Mars probe cannot be launched without relevant laws, he had said.

by Binsal Abdul Kader Senior Reporter

Gulf News 2017. All rights reserved.