From landing a rover on the Moon to sending an Emirati astronaut for a six-month trip to the space station, 2023 is set to be the UAE’s busiest year for space exploration.
The Emirates will etch its name in history books many times next year if its space missions go as planned.
Astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi will take on the Arab world’s first long-duration mission, while the Rashid rover could become the first Arab spacecraft to reach the Moon.
The impending missions follow a string of achievements by the UAE, including reaching Mars with its Hope probe in 2021 and launching Hazza Al Mansouri, the first Emirati astronaut, into space in 2019.
But a number of advanced missions are lined up to take place in the same year for the first time, all being carried out by the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC).
The National looks at the UAE space missions planned for 2023.
Rashid rover to reach lunar surface
The 10-kilogram rover is scheduled for launch in November from Cape Canaveral in Florida.
It will sit inside a Japanese lunar lander, called Hakuto-R Mission 1, and together the spacecraft will blast off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
Once in space, the journey to the Moon will take approximately three months.
In early 2023, Hakuto-R Mission 1 will attempt to land on the Moon.
If successful, the rover will then descend on to the lunar surface, climbing down a ramp built on to the lander using its four wheels.
If things go as planned, the UAE would become the first Arab country to reach the Moon.
Emirati astronaut heading for International Space Station
Dr Al Neyadi, 41, will become the first Arab astronaut to fly in a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. He will ride the Crew Dragon Capsule to the International Space Station next spring for a six-month stay.
The former IT professional and his SpaceX Crew-6 colleagues have been busy training in Houston, Florida and California.
They are learning how to operate the capsule, so they can safely fly to the orbiting science laboratory.
Dr Al Neyadi served as a backup astronaut for the UAE’s first space mission when Maj Al Mansouri blasted off on Russian Soyuz rocket for an eight-day trip to the ISS.
This latest mission is the first long-duration space mission by an Arab country and could feature the first spacewalk by an Arab astronaut.
MBZ-Sat
Late next year, the UAE hopes to launch MBZ-Sat, the region’s most powerful advanced-imaging satellite.
The 800-kilogram satellite will be carried into orbit on a SpaceX ride-sharing mission on board a Falcon 9 rocket in 2023. It has been named after President Sheikh Mohamed.
MBRSC is working with five private companies in the UAE to manufacture the satellite, including aerospace company Strata, engineering solutions company EPI, management consultancy Rockford Xellerix, Halcon, a company that makes precision-guided systems and Falcon Group, an inventory management company.
The UAE hopes to support the local space industry through this mission, with 90 per cent of the mechanical and 50 per cent of the electronic modules for MBZ-Sat built in the Emirates.
This is the second Earth-observation satellite to be built entirely by Emirati engineers. The first was KhalifaSat, which has been in operation since 2018.
Payload Hosting Initiative satellite
A small demo satellite with unique payloads is also scheduled for launch next year.
It is being developed under the Payload Hosting Initiative, a platform by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs that offers start-ups and developing space nations opportunities in space.
Engineers at the MBRSC have constructed the PHI-Demo satellite and two private companies have added their payloads.
One of the payloads on the 20-kilogram demo satellite is a propulsion subsystem that uses water to fuel the spacecraft.
Built by UK-based company SteamJet Space Systems, the technology offers a greener and more sustainable use of space.
OQ Technology, a company in the US that hopes to build a global satellite constellation dedicated to 5G, has built the other payload.
It includes an Internet of Things communication system that stores and forwards collected data from IoT devices in remote areas, industries and autonomous vehicles using 5G technology.
A second satellite, PHI-1, will be built in partnership with the UN’s space office.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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