The UAE is on its way to becoming a 'power' of space exploration

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) does not have a long history in space research. But recent progress has put it in a crucial position in the race to become a 'power nation' of space exploration.

The space agency was established in the UAE only seven years ago. The last few examples show that the UAE has emerged as a space power.

A good and important example of this is the historic success achieved by launching a spacecraft into the orbit of Mars on January 27. The UAE had brought its car-like vehicle into orbit on the occasion of the golden jubilee of independence.

Al Amal, or Asha, is orbiting Mars. The UAE is not only the first Arab country to reach the Red Planet, but also the fifth in the world. The United States, the then Soviet Union, the European Union, India had achieved this.

After India, which achieved that success in the first attempt, the name of UAE comes in the second place. Even China, which has been aggressive in space science for the last time, has not been able to achieve this.

The success achieved by the Mars mission has enhanced the national pride of the UAE and also played an important role in the development of human resources. Of the 200 engineers working on the Al Amal mission, 34 percent were women.

The UAE had not even set up a space agency when it announced plans to send a spacecraft to Mars. Before that he had only sent satellites. Nor were any planetary scientists in the UAE. He was just recruiting engineers, whose average age was 27 years.

But the success achieved last January has now shown that the UAE will not stop there. Launching small satellites in collaboration with the UK and France, the UAE sent its astronauts to the International Space Station in 2019.

This October, the UAE plans to explore Venus and land a spacecraft on an asteroid. It is estimated that it will take seven years to build a spacecraft to reach the orbit of Venus. The target is to send a vehicle by 2028, which will land by 2033.

But even before that, the UAE is working to send a spacecraft to the moon in 2024. It has also announced the construction of a human settlement on Mars within 100 years.

Even so, the UAE still has a long way to go to run its space program independently, as most of the current activities are being carried out in collaboration with the University of Colorado in the United States.

Alternatives to the international reputation and petrol economy

Unlike the international powers, which have been holding various programs to compete in the geopolitical competition in all fields, the UAE seems to have conducted space programs with two desires. The first is international prestige and the next is the search for an alternative to an oil-dependent economy.

One thing to keep in mind when discussing the first issue is the limitations of the UAE sky. There are 9.9 million people living in the UAE. Living in an area of ​​83,000 square kilometers, only 12 percent of them are UAE nationals.

Despite this, the UAE is a household name in the Gulf region like Saudi Arabia. The UAE's leadership is also accepted in the world. Therefore, he seems to want to establish his name as a space power and continue to advance his name.

Another desire of the emirate is to build an alternative to the oil economy. The UAE is the second largest economy in the Gulf region after Saudi Arabia. The UAE, with a gross domestic product of २१ 421 billion, has been recognized by the world for its oil-based economy.

Petroleum and gas production now play a major role in the UAE's economy. He has tried to diversify the economy. In 2009, the two products accounted for 85 percent of the emirate's economy. But now it has been reduced to 77 percent. It is planned to reduce it to one third.

For this, it is planned to develop space industry as an international financial and tourism center. The UAE government seeks to build a knowledge-based economy and society. He also plans to develop himself as a point of contact for Europe, Asia and Africa.

Space exploration will be a new area to compete with other regional powers. In the UAE, as in the United States, local private sector companies are said to be engaged in space exploration.