Visitors to Dubai Expo 2020 during Space Week next year will find themselves transported into an intergalactic world as a space-themed show is displayed within the world’s largest 360° projection screen at Al Wasl Dome. A sneak peek of the show was released on Monday during a "pre-Expo" Space Week being held until Tuesday and hosting a range of speakers including astronauts, astronomers, educators and space industry experts. The show featured rockets, astronauts with UAE flags on their suit, satellites and other spacecrafts. Space Week will be the first of 10 thematic weeks held by expo without the six-month fair that begins October 1, 2021. Reem Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Co-operation and director general of Expo 2020 Dubai Bureau, said the UAE's recent space missions would draw interest to the themed week. “As we gather today to contemplate the incredible mystery and opportunity of space, my mind is drawn surely and proudly to the successful launch of the Emirates Mars Mission in July – the Arab world’s first interplanetary mission,” she said. “The Hope probe was named in part of the aspirations that its success would reflect and underscore the leadership in science, tech and in exploration that has, for centuries, been the domain for the Arab world.” She said space exploration and technologies were a growing priority for countries as they turn to the sector for solutions on climate change, water management and food security. On of the UAE's scientific objectives from the Mars mission is to study how the Red Planet, which is said to have supported life billions of years ago, dried out. The science team will study the findings to see how food security and water resources can be strengthened in the Emirates – a country with an arid climate that relies heavily on imports. “In the areas of climate change, food security, water management and much more, our understanding has the potential to be reshaped by what we learn from the skies above,” said Ms Al Hashimy. “These could be through the studies of carbon dioxide level in our atmosphere, the intelligent application of satellite data for the benefit of agricultural development or through the advances of water purification that brings space station technology to villages in Sahara, Africa.” Several countries will be displaying their achievements in space at their pavilions during the much-anticipated event next year. A preview of the Space Week will continue until Tuesday. Some of the many other speakers include Nasa’s chief scientist James Green, planetary scientist Ryan Zeigler and Nasa’s chief historian Brian Odom. There are nine other thematic weeks, focusing on world’s most pressing challenges, which will be held before the opening of the grand show next year.
