Sarah Al Amiri, the UAE's Minister of State for Advanced Sciences, is playing an important role in space exploration. Chris Whiteoak / The National
Sarah Al Amiri, the UAE's Minister of State for Advanced Sciences, is playing an important role in space exploration. Chris Whiteoak / The National
Sarah Al Amiri, the UAE's Minister of State for Advanced Sciences, is playing an important role in space exploration. Chris Whiteoak / The National
Sarah Al Amiri, the UAE's Minister of State for Advanced Sciences, is playing an important role in space exploration. Chris Whiteoak / The National

The National Future Forum: UAE's monumental and risky Mars mission to inspire future generations, says minister


James Langton
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The UAE's Mission to Mars will not only contribute to scientific knowledge, but also inspire the next generation, says Sarah Al Amiri, the Minister of State with responsibility for advanced sciences.

The minister, one of the youngest in the Cabinet when she was appointed last October, was the opening speaker at The National Future Forum in Abu Dhabi.

Her responsibilities include the 2020 space probe, the first for an Arab country, which she described as “an adventure into the future of science and technology for this nation”.

The project is “a development for the UAE not only to settle Mars, not for the significance contribution that science … but more importantly for what is going to happen here in the UAE, for the development of the UAE.”

Addressing the audience at Manarat Al Saadiyat, Ms Al Amiri said the previous experience of other nations in going to Mars showed there was a huge risk of failure.

“It is such a monumental and challenging project that has a lot of risks and the risk is that only 50 per cent of projects that get to Mars succeed,” she said.

“That is a large risk that the Government is willing to take on, but is also willing to bestow on a group of young, enthusiastic and experienced engineers and experts.”

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Read more:

Taste of life on the Red Planet is coming to Dubai

City dedicated to researching Mars colonisation unveiled at UAE Government Centennial meeting

Ambitious plans to boost UAE space programme announced

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The Emirates Mars Mission will send an orbiting probe to Mars in 2020, for examining the planet's atmosphere and looking for evidence of water, sending back "data that science has never had before, that no mission has ever been able to capture," the minister said.

It is being built by a "brilliant" team all below the age of 35, and who had drawn from the experience of previous international Mars missions to cut the development time by half.

It is now barely two years to the planned launch on July 14, 2020, she said.

“This mission is on schedule, there are absolutely no delays so far and we actually see bits and pieces of the spacecraft coming together at a very fast speed.

“Hopefully we are going to have at the launch in Japan towards Mars to reach there at the beginning of 2021, with valuable scientific data being sent out to the public, without any restraints whatsoever, by our 50th anniversary in 2021.

“The future is about the youth and it is about engaging them,” she said.

Speaking of her own passion for science and knowledge, Ms Al Amiri said: “More importantly we all as a nation have a passion for exploration, for continued development, for continuously pushing the boundaries.

“The future is about capitalising on the knowledge of humanity, of further developing on it, of further expanding on it and pushing the boundaries better and in a shorter amount of time.”

“The future is also about being global citizens with an impact within and beyond borders.

“With this wide lens that we are looking at not just the future of the nation of the UAE, but of this world.

In a wide-ranging series of debates, guest speakers also touched on the rise of drones to carry passengers and manage commercial deliveries, the need for affordable housing, and super-fast passenger travel.

Leading Hong Kong architect James Law spoke of the need for "mega architecture" - where thousands of people are compressed to live and work effectively using less resources in a more compressed city.

Neuroscientist Olivier Oullier, president of Emotiv, which develops devices that allow devices to be controlled by the mind with the aid of a headset, spoke of the need to invest low cost devices that can monitor our brain health.

MRI scanners costing millions of dirhams and weighing tonnes are being replaced by headsets that cost less than a games console and can scan the brain for medical problems.

The National's Editor-in-Chief Mina Al Oraibi announced that six young Emiratis will have the chance to join with the organisations as fellows.

They will gain in-depth knowledge and insight into the rapidly changing media industry as they will be invited to seminars given by high-level experts, academics and thought leaders.

Analysis

Maros Sefcovic is juggling multiple international trade agreement files, but his message was clear when he spoke to The National on Wednesday.

The EU-UAE bilateral trade deal will be finalised soon, he said. It is in everyone’s interests to do so. Both sides want to move quickly and are in alignment. He said the UAE is a very important partner for the EU. It’s full speed ahead - and with some lofty ambitions - on the road to a free trade agreement. 

We also talked about US-EU tariffs. He answered that both sides need to talk more and more often, but he is prepared to defend Europe's position and said diplomacy should be a guiding principle through the current moment. 

 

TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:

- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools

- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say

- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance

- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs

- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills

- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month

- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues

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MATCH STATS

Wolves 0

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Red cards: Joao Moutinho (Wolves); Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa)

Man of the match: Emi Martinez (Aston Villa)

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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