The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on 25 May 2015 launched a strategic framework for its newly-established Space Agency. The Director-General of UAE Space Agency is Mohammed Nasser Al-Ahbabi.
The framework is aimed at launching satellite missions and the first Arab unmanned probe to Mars called Hope Probe by 2021.
The launch ceremony was held in the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre in Abu Dhabi in the presence of Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in Abu Dhabi.
The drafting of strategic plan is in line with the UAE Vision 2021 that aims to establish the UAE as one of the world’s leading countries by 2021 when UAE would be celebrating its Golden Jubilee, the 50th anniversary of the founding of the nation.
Besides, a memorandum of understanding was signed between between Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat), the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology and Orbital ATK Inc.
The agreement between the three entities, with coordination and oversight from the UAE Space Agency, marks the launch of a joint venture to introduce a graduate degree programme in advanced space science for the first time in the Middle East.
The UAE’s path to space dates back to 1976, when the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan met the NASA team responsible for the Apollo Moon programme. That meeting inspired nearly three decades of efforts guiding the UAE towards space and will be realised with the arrival of the Hope Probe.
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