The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) has revealed the identity of the Emirati who will take part in the next phase of a Nasa simulation to replicate the conditions of a mission to Mars.
Shareef Al Romaithi will participate in the next phase of the project, which is due to start on May 10, the MBRSC announced on Monday evening.
The project involves analogue astronauts – crew members who take part in simulated missions on Earth – to test the effects of space flight on the human mind and body.
Mr Al Romaithi will spend 45 days living with other crew members in a specially designed facility in Houston, Texas, as part of the Human Exploration Research Analogue (Hera) project.
“We are pleased to announce the selection of Shareef Al Romaithi for the second analogue study of the UAE Analogue Programme at the Hera habitat, marking another significant step towards the UAE's vision for space exploration," said Salem Al Marri, director general of MBRSC.
"This mission, blending scientific research and international collaboration with Nasa, is poised to deepen our understanding of the physiological and psychological challenges of long-duration space travel through experiments here on Earth.
"The insights gained from these Earth-based simulations will be instrumental in preparing humanity for the next giant leap – setting foot on Mars and beyond.
The UAE is honoured to be part of this journey, and we will continue to push the boundaries of what is possible and inspire future generations to be part of the space sector.”
Mr Al Romaithi is a pilot with more than 16 years of experience in the airline industry, including more than 9,000 flight hours on multiple Airbus and Boeing aircraft, according to a statement released by the MBRSC.
In isolation
The Hera facility is a three-storey habitat that offers the isolation, confinement and remote conditions that are experienced during space exploration missions.
Mr Al Romaithi is part of the second group of volunteers to participate in an analogue study in Hera this year.
The first phase was completed in March. The third and fourth phases will take place in August and November.
It is the second simulation mission in which the Emirates has been involved, after Saleh Al Ameri completed an eight-month mission in Russia in 2022.
The project will also see six experiments being carried by universities in the UAE. These include the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU), Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBRU), and the American University of Sharjah (AUS), in collaboration with the MBRSC.
if you go
The flights
Flydubai offers three daily direct flights to Sarajevo and, from June, a daily flight from Thessaloniki from Dubai. A return flight costs from Dhs1,905 including taxes.
The trip
The Travel Scientists are the organisers of the Balkan Ride and several other rallies around the world. The 2018 running of this particular adventure will take place from August 3-11, once again starting in Sarajevo and ending a week later in Thessaloniki. If you’re driving your own vehicle, then entry start from €880 (Dhs 3,900) per person including all accommodation along the route. Contact the Travel Scientists if you wish to hire one of their vehicles.
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Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
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Where to buy
Limited-edition art prints of The Sofa Series: Sultani can be acquired from Reem El Mutwalli at www.reemelmutwalli.com
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The BIO:
He became the first Emirati to climb Mount Everest in 2011, from the south section in Nepal
He ascended Mount Everest the next year from the more treacherous north Tibetan side
By 2015, he had completed the Explorers Grand Slam
Last year, he conquered K2, the world’s second-highest mountain located on the Pakistan-Chinese border
He carries dried camel meat, dried dates and a wheat mixture for the final summit push
His new goal is to climb 14 peaks that are more than 8,000 metres above sea level
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