His Royal Highness Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the first Arab astronaut and head of the Saudi Space Authority, said that when he met the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God rest his soul, in 1988 after returning from space, he touched the keenness of the forgiven He has knowledge of space science, and that the UAE is a contribution in this field, by asking him about the smallest details in the space journey, stressing that the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan was enjoying a vision of vision, thought and far-sighted wisdom, and his meeting was a source of pride.
This came during the speech of Prince Sultan bin Salman, which he delivered in a session "Unlimited ambitions .. stories from space" at the National Festival of Science, Technology and Innovation, which is currently being organized by the Ministry of Education in Festival City, Dubai, and will conclude its activities next Saturday.
Prince Sultan bin Salman added: “I saw the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan’s keenness to know the most accurate details of my flight to space, which led me to joke with him by saying: It seems that your highness wants to be an astronaut.”
He continued: «Saudi Arabia and the UAE are one homeland, united by historical relations and close ties, constructive cooperation and mutual love, and that the approach is one, aspirations are firm, stable and common in various fields, and space exploration is an important, common and motivating element for us to work together in complete harmony for the good and progress of our two countries And all mankind », pointing out that the space sector is one of the vital fields, which is receiving growing attention in both countries, and there is a common vision in this regard, and we look forward soon to signing an agreement between Saudi Arabia and the UAE in this field, and that there will also be a joint trip to space.
For his part, Minister of State for Higher Education Affairs and Advanced Skills, Chairman of the Emirates Space Agency, Dr. Ahmed bin Abdullah Hamid Belhoul Al Falasi, affirmed that the space field is an essential pillar of the festival, its activities and its agenda, as it is one of the most vital and important sectors in the field of innovation, science and technology, as The space sector is distinguished by being the starting point of many innovations and technology that facilitate our daily life. These technologies originated and humanity worked on developing them for space purposes in the first place, then it was allocated to benefit from them in many areas of life, and this means that p We have to continue research and development in this field by relying on our student students, who have always been attracted and distinguished by these interesting scientific fields, because it will guarantee us and our beloved country and our generations a bright and distinguished future ». He pointed out that the state universities possess the capabilities and educational programs in various disciplines related to the space sector, as well as an elite of professors and specialists who are able to qualify students and provide them with various sciences and skills necessary to develop space mechanisms and technology in the future, in order to build a new generation of space explorers who are able to complete an experiment The Emirati space with all its elements, starting with preparing mathematical equations and ending with the successful landing of humans on the surface of Mars, after less than 100 years from now.
He called on the youth and all those who have a passion for working in the field of space to “prepare themselves from now to take up the challenge. We have projects that meet the aspirations of its most important global counterparts, a project to explore Mars with the probe of hope that will start in its mission this year, God willing, and another to build a settlement on the Red Planet By the year 2117, starting from the development of research of this scientific mission on the planet in the scientific city of Mars, and everyone among us who have shared these aspirations with us has a place and an important role to play and lead to our country immortalizing more achievements, as the word impossible has no place in the dictionary of the Emirates.
The first Emirati astronaut, Hazza Al Mansoori, talked about his long-standing aspiration to be an astronaut, saying: “The college organized for us a training session on speaking techniques in conferences, and every student was asked to talk about the field of aviation, but I talked about the shuttle, motivated by the fact that I wanted In becoming an astronaut, but my talk was met with mockery from some of my colleagues present, and today I proudly tell them: I am an astronaut today. ”
200 citizen employees
The Assistant Director General of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center for Scientific and Technical Affairs, Director of the Astronauts Program, Engineer Salem Al-Marri, confirmed that the ambition and persistence of the leadership contributed to laying the basic building blocks for the space sector in the country, indicating that the center has 200 citizen employees working in it, and the average age of 27 years Emiratization is 100%, and 50% of employees are female.
He explained that «the center’s first block was represented in its participation in building a satellite satellite and was already launched in 2009 under the name (Dubai Sat 1), and the center also worked on designing (Dubai Sat 2), and the number of engineers in the center increased according to our plans to expand in this field and we subsequently worked on building The (Khalifa Sat) satellite was launched, and it was 100% citizenship efforts. ”He added,“ After we finished launching the satellites, we developed our ambitions and worked on designing manned space trips through the center’s astronauts program. The beginning was with Hazza Al Mansouri’s journey, and the center continues By developing its capabilities to continue these journeys by qualifying Emirati astronauts For upcoming trips ».
The space sector is a vital field, and it is receiving growing attention in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Dr. Ahmed Al Falasi:
"The country's universities possess educational programs in various fields of the space sector."