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UAE Space Director-General meets four space agencies at IAC 2021

During the four meetings, the UAE Space Agency provided an update on the latest achievements from the Emirates Mars Mission’s Hope Probe.

The UAE Space Agency’s Director-General, Salem Butti Salem Al Qubaisi, held bilateral talks with senior space agency representatives from Brazil, India, the US, and Sweden.

The high-level meetings to explore synergetic cooperation and collaboration areas in space, science and technology took place on the sidelines of the 72nd International Astronautical Congress (IAC)in Dubai.

Salem Butti Salem Al Qubaisi was joined by senior figures from the UAE Space Agency, including Executive Director Ibrahim Al Qasim. They met separately with a number of high-ranking figures, including Anna Rathsman, Director General of the Swedish National Space Agency; Carlos Moura, President of the Brazilian Space Agency (AEB); Kailasavadivoo Sivan, Chairperson of the Indian Space Research Organisation; R Umamaheswaran, Scientific Secretary at ISRO and Col. Francis Ngabo CEO of Rwanda Space agency.

Salem Butti Salem Al Qubaisi said: “Building stronger partnerships is a key pillar of our strategy to turn the UAE into a global space player. Today’s meetings are an important step forward. Only by working together can we create a new era of global cooperation that brings the world’s greatest minds together to solve some of humanity’s greatest challenges. While we are a young nation, our space industry has achieved remarkable progress and we are moving at speed to take it to the next level by fostering closer ties. These meetings reflect our ongoing commitment to strengthen international alliances as we create a knowledge and innovation-driven economy for the next 50 years.”

The UAE Space Agency used the opportunity to share an update on the latest achievements from the Emirates Mars Mission’s Hope Probe with all four parties. Approximately 110 gigabytes of data has already been shared freely with scientific organisations around the world.

He also discussed the UAE Space Agency’s competition, in partnership with the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, to develop space applications that tackle climate change and food security. Up to AED 4m ($1.09m) in funding for next-generation proposals that address climate change and food security. Scientists, entrepreneurs, academics and innovators seeking to address some of humanity’s greatest challenges are invited to participate and accelerate the UAE’s knowledge-driven economy.