This article was originally published in The conversation. The post contributed the article to Space.com’s Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.
Ine Steenmans, Professor of Futures, Analysis and Policies, UCL
Neil Morisetti, Vice Dean (Public Policy) Faculty of Engineering Sciences, UCL
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) successfully launched its mission to Mars called “Al Amal” or “Hope” from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan on July 20. This is the UAE’s first space mission and the first Arab mission. to Mars, turning the world’s first launch countdown into Arabic at a time for history books.
The mission’s journey to its release date could have been at least as remarkable as the launch itself. With no previous experience in national space exploration, planetary science capabilities or adequate infrastructure, the nation managed to assemble a 100% local delivery team, Emirati personnel with an average age of less than 35 years. And by setting a deadline of six years instead of ten, As most comparable missions do, he accomplished the launch on time and on budget, now proudly joining the small group of nations that have launched a mission to reach Mars.
But given these odds, and the fact that missions to Mars are known for their high failure rates (around 30% since the early 2000s), why did the UAE target the red planet in the first place? Space programs have historically been used as catalysts for geopolitical influence. Furthermore, we often think of them as costly efforts at scientific curiosity, with little immediate and tangible benefit here on planet Earth. Does this reflect the UAE trip?
Space missions generally go out trying to answer scientific questions, before asking how their value can be extended to the society behind them. The Hope mission, however, has reversed this traditional logic. Instead, its conception arose from a search to fundamentally redirect the trajectory of a nation.
The UAE mission has been timed to coincide with Hope’s arrival in Martian orbit with the nation’s 50th anniversary as an independent country. Through its design and execution, the mission aims to diversify the UAE’s economy from traditional activity, including oil and finance. Instead, it wants to inspire a young Arab generation towards scientific and business careers, and away from other less beneficial ways for society.
Related: UAE’s Hope mission to Mars in photos
Hope will also study the Martian atmosphere and gather data to generate the first truly holistic model of the planet’s weather system. The analysis and ideas generated will help us better understand the atmospheric composition and ongoing climate change of our neighboring planet.
Lessons for aspiring nations
What could other nations learn from this distinctive approach to space exploration? Can a space mission really transform a national economy? These are the central questions of an external review of the Emirates Mars mission by a group of researchers from the Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy at University College London.
Over the course of five months, we conducted a comprehensive impact and value assessment of the mission less than five years after it began. What we found was that there is already evidence that the mission is having the desired impact. The country has greatly increased its scientific capacity with more than 50 peer-reviewed contributions to international space science research. Hope’s upcoming open exchange of atmospheric data measurements will likely amplify this contribution.
The nation has also generated significant additional value in logistics by creating new manufacturing capabilities and expertise. There are already several companies outside the space industry that have benefited from the knowledge transfer. These are all typical impacts of a space mission.
But while this is where most studies of the value of space missions stop looking for impact, for the UAE this would lose much of the picture. Ultimately, its mission to Mars has generated transformative value in building capacity for a fundamentally different future national economy, one with a much stronger role for science and innovation.
Through a broad portfolio of programs and initiatives, in just a few years the Hope mission has increased the number of students enrolling in science degrees and helped create new science graduate pathways. It has also opened up new sources of research funding and made science an attractive career.
Therefore, one of the lessons is that when integrated into a long-term national strategic vision, space exploration can generate significant near-home benefits in the short term. While space may seem primarily about science missions, when designed this way, they can be missions for national development.
Hope will reach Martian orbit in February 2021. Only then will its scientific mission really take off. But his message of hope has already been transmitted.
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