Dr Mohammed Al Ahbabi, the Director General of the UAE Space Agency, will work closely with his British counterparts as the country prepares for a Mars probe. (Delores Johnson / The National )
Dr Mohammed Al Ahbabi, the Director General of the UAE Space Agency, will work closely with his British counterparts as the country prepares for a Mars probe. (Delores Johnson / The National )

Together, the UAE and the UK are exploring the final frontier



The United Kingdom and UAE space agencies this week signed a memorandum of understanding to create a strategic space partnership. This will open the way for extensive cooperation between our two countries in space research, scientific missions and the search for popular applications. The memorandum was signed by UK Space Agency chief executive Dr David Parker and UAE Space Agency chairman Dr Khalifa Mohammed Al Rumaithi, who was in the UK visiting some key space facilities.

The UK is a world leader in space exploration and technology. Our first venture into space was in 1962 on the world’s first collaborative satellite, Ariel 1. In the 54 years since then, international cooperation has been central to human achievements in space. In 2004, British technology helped Europe land a probe on Titan, a moon of Saturn, 1.4 billion kilometres from Earth – the most distant landing yet achieved by mankind. Today, a quarter of the world’s commercial satellites rely on British technology.

The UK Space Agency, with its UK partners, is pursuing three high-level themes. First, the UK is driving down the cost of space access by working on small satellites and establishing a UK spaceport. Second, our National Space Security Policy recognises that space is a precious asset that must be secured and protected. The UK is committed to developing technologies to remove space debris safely, and to designing mission concepts that ensure reliable warnings of extreme space weather, and so mitigate the risks of space exploration. Finally, the agency is maximising exploitation of UK satellites by using collected data to the largest extent possible to improve our quality of life.

In December last year, Tim Peake became the first British astronaut to join the crew of the International Space Station (ISS). On his six-month mission – named Principia after Sir Isaac Newton's world-changing text Principia Mathematica – Mr Peake is conducting unique scientific experiments, from controlling a robot in the UK from the space station to monitoring intracranial fluid shifts during prolonged space flight.

Mr Peake and other UK scientists are making important contributions to the truly international work on board the ISS. This work will improve life on Earth, for instance by developing new medical techniques and strong, lightweight materials. It will also help space agencies plan for new missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond.

Mr Peake is already inspiring a generation of young students in the UK, and is supported by a programme of education and outreach, bringing the excitement of space to classrooms across the country and encouraging interest in Stem (science, technology, engineering and maths) subjects. With this experience, the UK is able to support the UAE as its own ambitious space programme inspires innovation among Emirati students. Its relevance stretches far beyond space into technology and engineering excellence across many sectors and disciplines.

Against this backdrop of discoveries and incredible science, the epic challenge of the Emirates Mars Mission will be just one area where we can support the UAE in its vision of space excellence. Building on our existing relationship, this formal agreement between our governments will support ongoing work between the UK and UAE to achieve exciting and inspirational results in both academia and industry.

Our successful cooperation can already be seen between Deimos Space UK and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), which started a joint satellite project in 2015 to monitor from space specific types of environmental change in Dubai through the development of algorithms and 3D modelling. Using imagery collected by UK satellite Deimos-2 and UAE satellite Dubaisat-2, the Dubai Government is able to observe, monitor and detect different types of changes in vegetation, water, road networks and buildings. This project, named Safiy, demonstrates the UK’s commitment to the MBRSC by bringing space technology back to Earth in support of the Dubai Smart Cities initiative

The space race in the 1960s was often marked by national one-upmanship, particularly between the United States and the Soviet Union. That competitive edge had its benefits, not least in making countries strive and stretch to take the next extraordinary leap in space exploration.

Space travel and exploration and the use of space-based technologies to improve our lives are now more likely to be characterised by international collaboration. But our ambition to take those extraordinary leaps remains. With that in mind, I’m excited to imagine the potential, the uncharted frontiers and the many benefits that the UAE and UK can realise together.

Philip Parham is the UK ambassador to the UAE

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Ain Dubai in numbers

126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure

1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch

16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.

9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.

5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place

192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
THE APPRENTICE

Director: Ali Abbasi

Starring: Sebastian Stan, Maria Bakalova, Jeremy Strong

Rating: 3/5

Jigra
Director: Vasan Bala
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Rated: 3.5/5
Diriyah%20project%20at%20a%20glance
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Singham Again

Director: Rohit Shetty

Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone

Rating: 3/5

Meg%202%3A%20The%20Trench
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if you go

The flights

Flydubai flies to Podgorica or nearby Tivat via Sarajevo from Dh2,155 return including taxes. Turkish Airlines flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Podgorica via Istanbul; alternatively, fly with Flydubai from Dubai to Belgrade and take a short flight with Montenegro Air to Podgorica. Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi to Podgorica via Belgrade. Flights cost from about Dh3,000 return including taxes. There are buses from Podgorica to Plav. 

The tour

While you can apply for a permit for the route yourself, it’s best to travel with an agency that will arrange it for you. These include Zbulo in Albania (www.zbulo.org) or Zalaz in Montenegro (www.zalaz.me).

 

Company%20profile
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Premier Futsal 2017 Finals

Al Wasl Football Club; six teams, five-a-side

Delhi Dragons: Ronaldinho
Bengaluru Royals: Paul Scholes
Mumbai Warriors: Ryan Giggs
Chennai Ginghams: Hernan Crespo
Telugu Tigers: Deco
Kerala Cobras: Michel Salgado

The Transfiguration

Director: Michael O’Shea

Starring: Eric Ruffin, Chloe Levine

Three stars

Thank You for Banking with Us

Director: Laila Abbas

Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum

Rating: 4/5

COMPANY PROFILE

Company: Bidzi

● Started: 2024

● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid

● Based: Dubai, UAE

● Industry: M&A

● Funding size: Bootstrapped

● No of employees: Nine

Cricket World Cup League 2

UAE squad

Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind

Fixtures

Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed 

Company%20Profile
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Company%20Profile
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Profile

Company: Libra Project

Based: Masdar City, ADGM, London and Delaware

Launch year: 2017

Size: A team of 12 with six employed full-time

Sector: Renewable energy

Funding: $500,000 in Series A funding from family and friends in 2018. A Series B round looking to raise $1.5m is now live.

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Blonde
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAndrew%20Dominik%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAna%20de%20Armas%2C%20Adrien%20Brody%2C%20Bobby%20Cannavale%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3%2F5%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
'Munich: The Edge of War'

Director: Christian Schwochow

Starring: George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, Jeremy Irons

Rating: 3/5

The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
Tree of Hell

Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla

Director: Raed Zeno

Rating: 4/5

The Disaster Artist

Director: James Franco

Starring: James Franco, Dave Franco, Seth Rogan

Four stars

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

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Company%20Profile
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