UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi's historic mission in space will help boost Arab capabilities in the sector, a renowned scientist has said.
Dr Farouk El Baz, an Egyptian-American scientist who worked on America’s Apollo programme in the 1960s, told The National that Dr Al Neyadi's six-month stint on the International Space Station had helped provide crucial data on how microgravity affects the human body.
The Emirati astronaut returned to the UAE on Monday and received a grand reception, with President Sheikh Mohamed and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, who received him at the Abu Dhabi International Airport.
“Not only has it propelled Arab capabilities in space, but this mission, being the first with Arab involvement, holds immense value for the scientific community,” said Dr El Baz, who is currently the director of the Remote Sensing Applications Centre at Boston University.
“The mission yielded pivotal data, especially on human physiology in microgravity, essential for preparing for Mars missions.”
Crucial science work on the ISS
Dr Al Neyadi became the first Arab to carry out an extended space mission, as well as the first Arab to perform a spacewalk.
He took part in more than 200 experiments on the orbiting outpost that were assigned to him by Nasa and universities in the UAE.
Many of them focused on how the environment of space affects the mind and body, as well as research that could help advance treatment options for cancer and osteoporosis.
Salem Al Marri, director general of the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, which oversees the UAE's astronaut programme, told The National that Dr Al Neyadi had also participated in dental research aboard the ISS.
Under the study, from the Mohammed bin Rashid University of Medicine, 10 doctors investigated how microgravity influences dental health.
They tracked Dr Al Neyadi's dental status before, during and after the mission.
“In another breakthrough, Sultan spearheaded experiments to cultivate tomatoes and lettuce in space, verifying their edibility and health benefits,” said Mr Al Marri.
Future Mars missions
Emirati space officials are also hoping that the mission would also help boost the UAE's space programme, including preparing for future missions to the Moon and Mars.
The country has a Mars 2117 strategy, which aims to build a human settlement on the Red Planet by the year 2117.
“Sultan's mission encapsulates a chapter in the blueprint for extended human space travels,” said Mr Al Marri.
He said he believes humans will be ready for trips to Mars 2040, but the Moon will be the first stop.
Space agencies such as Nasa have now shifted focus to the Moon, with the International Space Station nearing retirement.
The plan is to use the Moon as a base for astronauts and then eventually launch to Mars from there in future.
“Almost half a century post the last lunar visit, there's a compelling scientific rationale to return,” said Mr Al Marri.
“I project a lunar revisit within the coming decade, which, in essence, will be a precursor to Mars missions.”
On February 9, 2021, the UAE became the fifth country to reach Mars when its Hope probe successfully entered the planet's orbit.
Since then, it has been sending back data that has been helping the scientific community better understand the planet's atmosphere and learn why it became uninhabitable.
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Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
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Country-size land deals
US interest in purchasing territory is not as outlandish as it sounds. Here's a look at some big land transactions between nations:
Louisiana Purchase
If Donald Trump is one who aims to broker "a deal of the century", then this was the "deal of the 19th Century". In 1803, the US nearly doubled in size when it bought 2,140,000 square kilometres from France for $15 million.
Florida Purchase Treaty
The US courted Spain for Florida for years. Spain eventually realised its burden in holding on to the territory and in 1819 effectively ceded it to America in a wider border treaty.
Alaska purchase
America's spending spree continued in 1867 when it acquired 1,518,800 km2 of Alaskan land from Russia for $7.2m. Critics panned the government for buying "useless land".
The Philippines
At the end of the Spanish-American War, a provision in the 1898 Treaty of Paris saw Spain surrender the Philippines for a payment of $20 million.
US Virgin Islands
It's not like a US president has never reached a deal with Denmark before. In 1917 the US purchased the Danish West Indies for $25m and renamed them the US Virgin Islands.
Gwadar
The most recent sovereign land purchase was in 1958 when Pakistan bought the southwestern port of Gwadar from Oman for 5.5bn Pakistan rupees.
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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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UAE Team Emirates
Valerio Conti (ITA)
Alessandro Covi (ITA)
Joe Dombrowski (USA)
Davide Formolo (ITA)
Fernando Gaviria (COL)
Sebastian Molano (COL)
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Ferrari
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Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
