Cogito Ergo Non Serviam

UAE Announces Unmanned Mars Mission for 2021

The United Arab Emirates made a bid yesterday to become ninth country to have space-faring capabilities with the announcement of an unmanned mission to Mars in 2021. In addition, the UAE has announced the establishment of its own space agency, which will report directly to the cabinet. It's much better news out of that part of the world than the five-hour ceasefire in Gaza that Hamas violated within 2 hours.

Echoing President Kennedy, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, the prime minister and vice president of the UAE, said, "Despite all the tensions and the conflicts across the Middle East, we have proved today how positive a contribution the Arab people can make to humanity through great achievements, given the right circumstances and ingredients. Our region is a region of civilization. Our destiny is, once again, to explore, to create, to build and to civilize. We chose the epic challenge of reaching Mars because epic challenges inspire us and motivate us. The moment we stop taking on such challenges is the moment we stop moving forward."

The country has already spent more than $5 billion (20 billion UAE dinars) on space technologies. In the press statement the sheikh referred directly to "satellite data and TV broadcast company, Al Yah Satellite Communications, mobile satellite communication company, Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications and Earth mapping and observation system, Dubai Sat." His Highness also pointed out that the global space industry was worth about $300 billion growing at a rate of 8% a year. He wants a piece of that action.

As a people, the Arabs are hardly newcomers to astronomy. Most of the stars carry Arabic names, from Vega to Spica to Betelgeuse. The stars in Orion's Belt conjure up the Caliphate just with the sounds of Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka. That the region's political and economic situation today is less than it once was can best be addressed by this kind of ambition. President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan said, "We aim for the U.A.E. to be among the top countries in the field of aerospace by 2021. We have a great belief in Allah and in the talents of our young people. We have the strongest determination, the greatest ambitions, and a clear plan to reach our targets." This journal would like nothing better than the UAE to succeed here as an example to others.

What remains unclear is precisely what the mission is. Sending a probe to the Red Planet is nothing new, and if there is no new science being done, the project is merely a morale booster. There's nothing wrong with that, but the mission is an opportunity to do so much more. It would be prudent, even visionary, for the government to begin soliciting experiment ideas from the scientific community, especially from its own scientists.

In addition, it is unclear if the UAE intends to build its own space infrastructure or rely on that of others. While the former may be a way to provide jobs and build prestige, it is hard to say that putting a launch pad capable to putting things into orbit and going to Mars will provide stability in that part of the world. Rockets go up, and they come down -- the payload is the difference between scientific research and a first-strike weapon. If putting American astronauts into orbit is done with a Russian Soyuz capsule, there would be no shame in the UAE using an existing launch facility.

This journal has taken the view, for many years now, that space exploration is one of the callings of humanity while at the same time discounting the utility of manned missions under current technology. Therefore, one must applaud the wisdom of the UAE government in opting for an unmanned mission to Mars that can do science rather than putting a man in orbit simply to prove the country can.

It is perhaps naive to think that rockets in the Middle East will cease to be weapons any time soon, but every journey must start with a first step. Inshallah, others will follow.

© Copyright 2014 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.



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