"Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center" announces the success of "Mission 1" of the Emirates Space Simulation Project

The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center announced the end of Mission Number One of the Emirates Space Simulation Project yesterday and the achievement of its goals with great success, as part of the international scientific research program at the unique ground station “Sirius 21”, which was launched on November 4, 2021 and lasted for 8 months, with the aim of studying the biological and psychological effects of people Humans caused by isolation in space.

Emirati astronaut Saleh Al Ameri from the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center participated in the mission to represent the United Arab Emirates, and Oleg Blinov and Victoria Kirishenko from the Institute of Medical and Biomedical Research in Moscow, Ashley Kowalsky and William Brown from NASA.

The participation of the United Arab Emirates in the mission comes to support scientific communities and research centers locally and globally, where the outputs of the mission will be positively reflected on the efforts of scientific research, especially that Al-Amiri conducted 70 experiments during the duration of the mission, including 5 participations from four Emirati universities covering the fields of physiology, psychology and biology.

The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center had announced the opening of registration for participation in the "mission number one" of the Emirates Space Simulation Project in February 2020, where it received 172 applications to join it, while the applicants underwent evaluation processes in line with international standards, leading to the selection of Saleh Al Ameri and Abdullah Al Hammadi to start the Emirati mission. The first to simulate space.

His Excellency Hamad Obaid Al Mansouri, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center said that the great support provided by the wise leadership and the insightful vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the State, "may God protect him" and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Chairman of the Council The Ministers, Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Chairman of the Executive Council and Chairman of the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center for the Development of the Space Sector, form the basis for the UAE’s vision to achieve successive achievements in the field of space studies in order to place the country in the ranks of developed countries In the field of space, which, with its outputs, contributes greatly to enhancing the future of humanity for the better.

Al-Mansoori explained that the world is witnessing the merit of the people of the UAE in the space sector, and stressed the continuation of work to achieve more achievements in future projects.

He pointed out that the participation of an Emirati astronaut from the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center with two astronauts from the Institute of Medical and Biological Research in Moscow and two astronauts from the American Space Agency "NASA" confirms the great confidence that the world places in the capabilities of our national cadres and reflects the extent of the contributions they add. National projects in the space sector to serve humanity and benefit the global scientific community.

For his part, Salem Al-Marri, Director General of the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center, said that the pioneer of space simulator Saleh Al-Amiri succeeded in achieving the goals of the first Emirati mission to simulate space, thanks to his efforts and perseverance during the 8-month mission period within the "Sirius 21" program... The positive results achieved through scientific experiments will contribute significantly to studying the effects of isolation on human psychological aspects and physiology, in addition to practical participation in preparing for future space exploration missions.

Adnan Al Rayes, director of the "Mars 2117" program at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center, said that the "Cirrus-21" project has achieved new achievements, and the mission witnessed the conduct of more than 70 diverse experiments over eight months, with international participation from the Institute of Medical and Biomedical Research in Moscow and the Agency for Medical and Biological Research in Moscow. American space agency "NASA" and the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center.

The team concluded its mission and came back with extensive scientific experience and rich knowledge that will help us develop our future projects.”

He added: We in the United Arab Emirates and the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center are proud of our participation in this mission, which represents an important milestone within the UAE Space Simulation Program as part of our long-term strategy, "Mars 2117", to send humans to Mars and build a settlement on the surface of the Red Planet.

The Sirius project is truly a platform for international cooperation for everyone to contribute to the development of science and technology that will enable us to launch ambitious future missions.”

Saleh Al Ameri, a pioneer in space simulation, congratulated all the crew members of the "Sirius-21" and dedicated the achievement to the wise leadership and to the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center... expressing his pride in the success of the first Emirati space simulation mission. His colleague Abdullah Al Hammadi during the mission that achieved its goals.

Al-Amiri added, "We lived a long experience and in complete isolation, with the participation of many colleagues from different countries, but it was very important, as 70 scientific experiments were conducted, and this required us to work 12 hours a day from seven in the morning until seven in the evening, and I was pleased to participate in this exceptional experience because there is a professional and supportive staff in In addition, I have benefited and learned a lot about various aspects of space, and it will be a strong motivation to make further progress in this sector, with the continuous endeavor to invest in the nation's youth."

Saleh Al-Amiri’s experiments included the fields of physiology, psychology and biology, and the research of Emirati universities that were selected for the mission included research from the Mohammed bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, which focused on the effects of long-term exposure to environments simulating life in space on changing the state of the heart, blood vessels and postural heart interactions. While the research topic presented by the University of Sharjah highlighted the study of determining the effects of stress caused by isolation on the circulatory and musculoskeletal function of crew members during the mission with the measurement of clinical, genomic, transcriptional and proteomic parameters.

The list of research topics submitted for the purpose of the mission also included a paper presented by the American University of Sharjah on relieving psychological stress in periods of isolation and closed environments, while the United Arab Emirates University proposed research on the psychological challenges posed by isolation during human flights into space The role of motivational dynamics and intense intermittent training as a measure to prevent Bone density loss and insulin resistance in the space environment.

Al-Amri’s experiments, which he carried out successfully and highly with the mission team, included simulating the operation of the space robot and reducing stress in isolation, as well as virtual reality experiments, which included launching a vehicle and securing its docking with the International Space Station and flying over the moon and Mars. He also conducted an electroencephalogram experiment in order to obtain a clear picture of brain functions. In the case of isolation, which helps scientists to identify the interaction of the brain and changes in cognitive functions when staying in isolated environments for a long time, in addition to an examination of the samples he collected with his colleagues during a simulated experiment to land on the surface of the moon, collecting samples and transporting them to the lunar base and experimenting with the use of the robotic arm to capture Cargo and equipment transport vehicles "Kandarm 2" and many other experiments.

For his part, Abdullah Al-Hammadi, the pioneer of space simulation, who is in the control room, played an important and key role in the success of the mission of his colleague Saleh Al-Amiri and all crew members, which focused on following up the mission scenario, supporting the crew members, setting a daily report on what happens to them, as well as following up and reviewing the task schedule through the operations center and analysis Data during the period of scientific experiments in order to accurately make a clear future plan for various scenarios, in addition to communicating and providing psychological support to all crew members.

The crew of the Sirius 21 mission worked in an isolated environment simulating a spacecraft, while the mission's experimental complex consisted of independent, controlled life support systems that operated according to specific parameters, including ventilation, air conditioning, atmospheric purification, gas analysis, and support for certain conditions of pressure, temperature and humidity. and gas composition as well as water supply, sewage, electricity, electric lighting, video surveillance and fire extinguishing systems.

The institute has unique facilities for conducting typical studies of spaceflight for various periods of more than 500 days and can accommodate 3 to 10 crew members. The experiment, all systems, crew monitoring and environmental standards are controlled from the Sirius 21 Experiment Control Center .

This program was designed for a period of up to 5 years. So far, two phases of the program have been completed. The first phase included "Sirius 17" and was for 17 days during the period from 7 to 24 November 2017, and the second phase, "Sirius 19", took 120 days and took place between March 19 and July 17 2019, while the third stage, "Sirius 21", began on November 4 last and extends for 240 days, and will be an isolation experiment that simulates the main features of a future space exploration mission, while "Sirius 22/23" is planned to be launched during 2022 and for a period of 12 months.

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