Dubai Future Foundation issued a report, highlighting 35 innovative projects to employ modern technologies and innovations in the space sector, launched under the supervision of the Foundation, as part of the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Settlement Challenge, which was announced during the work of the sixth session of the World Summit of Governments 2018.
The "Future of Space" report, prepared by the "Dubai Future Research" team, reviews the role of these projects in the scientific research sector and the employment of advanced technology, to enhance the leadership of the UAE and support its future directions and projects in the field of space exploration. The projects focus on developing new ideas and innovations to support five main axes Includes: energy, construction work, food and water, legislation, health, robotics and communications.
The projects were chosen based on an evaluation process conducted by the participants in the challenge of Mohammed bin Rashid to colonize space, which numbered 275 experts, from the most prominent universities and research centers in various countries of the world, including the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Singapore, Japan, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates , And others.
Among these projects are innovative projects to find sustainable and cost-effective energy sources in space, where long-range space trips require huge amounts of fuel, which makes them expensive and technically demanding, and energy storage poses new technical challenges, solutions can be found using energy Solar thermal and solar hydrogen from asteroid mining, and most of this research is associated with direct and indirect applications on Earth.
The project "Burning Local Martian Chemicals for Planetary Mobility" aims to find feasible solutions for long-term space missions through the vehicles on Mars.
The researchers worked on the project "Enabling Exploration of Planets Using Solar Hydrogen" to evaluate the possibility of mining asteroids to explore for hydrogen and water, which contributes to supporting missions and space settlements by providing local resources. The researchers of the "Solar Thermal Energy for Space Settlements" project prepared a study of a preliminary design for the electric power generation system to suit the space of a small space settlement.
The researchers worked on developing 12 innovative ideas for construction work in space, in light of the advanced technology required for building any settlement or space base in the field of building and construction, to meet the challenges of gravity, air pressure and space radiation, and the inability to rely on human labor in construction work.
Researchers in the project "Using Graphene Enhanced Substances in Space Settlement Applications" studied the response of these substances in low temperature and pressure conditions similar to those of Mars. The project "Multiple independent robots technologies to build the Martian base" also included studying the role of robots in building different types of structures independently using available resources in space. The scientists involved in the project "Designing a Martian Home" collaborated in building physically ideal homes to live on Mars.
The project "Radiation shielding with the specific application on the isotope of the moon and Mars base" and "Rehabilitation of Mars through magnetic shielding using an artificial magnetic casing" aims to reduce the risks of solar winds, cosmic radiation and solar particle activities to the health of astronauts, while the study seeks to "choose New home: How to determine the best asteroids for settlement »To define the criteria for travel to asteroids and the number and size of trips that can be taken.
Researchers in the "Sustainable Space Settlement: Lava Stability Analysis" project studied the structural stability of lava tubes on the moon and Mars for long-term settlements. Researchers have developed a project "Are metallic asteroid caves suitable for space settlement?" Techniques for creating artificial gravity that can support space settlements in space terrain like asteroids. Scientists participating in the project "Lava Lifetime Shelf Life on the Moon and Mars" conducted extensive studies of the best ways to build future space settlements.
A number of researchers participating in the Mohammed Bin Rashid Challenge of Space Settlement addressed the issue of providing sustainable food sources, due to the lack of environmental and economic feasibility in relying on the regular import of food from the earth, which also contributes to enhancing food security on the ground.
Researchers have developed in the project "a bio-reactor for algae production", an automatic greenhouse for incubation and cultivation of algae to be useful for space missions in the long term. the soil.
Future innovations
Within the hub of various technologies, through which projects can support human health, communication and interaction in space, projects are considered to conduct safe space missions in the long run. Participants in the project "Gesture-based control in a remote control robot in space environments" studied the enhancement of user awareness in high-precision remote control activities, and the "Robots made from plants" project focused on developing prototypes of robots made from plant fibers and plants Cultivated.
Virtual seminar
The Dubai Future Research team, in partnership with the Emirates Space Agency, is organizing a virtual webinar on Tuesday 28 July to discuss the report and projects, which were developed within the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Settlement Challenge, to highlight the most important long-term opportunities.
- Researchers have worked on the development of 12 innovative idea for construction work in space.