"Prepare for Post-Oil Era" UAE Challenges as First Arab Competitor in Mars Exploration Race

Mars Probe 'Amal' Launched from Japan Space Center on 20th
Plan to Explore Mars Atmosphere on 50th Anniversary of Founding
30s Female Minister of Science and Technology Leading Project
"Since Mars Project Announcement, University Students Changing Majors to Science and Engineering"

Citizens of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are watching the launch of the Mars probe 'Amal' at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre in Dubai on the 20th (local time). / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Ju-hyung] The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has successfully launched its Mars probe, "Amal." With this, the UAE has not only taken its first step in a seven-month Mars exploration journey but also joined the "Mars exploration race" previously dominated by established space powers such as the United States and China.

This probe launch is particularly notable because it was overseen by a female minister in her 30s. It is a rare case of a woman leading a national space development project to success in an Arab country, where women's participation in society is known to be challenging.

The UAE Space Agency announced on the 20th (local time) that the Japanese space launch vehicle H2A, carrying Amal, was successfully launched from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kyushu, Japan.

The H2A took off at 6:58:14 a.m. that day by igniting its engine. After 6 minutes and 44 seconds, the first-stage rocket was separated, and 11 minutes and 20 seconds later, the ignition of the second-stage rocket was completed, sending Amal into space.

Having left Earth, Amal is expected to travel 493.5 million kilometers over seven months to reach Mars. Once it successfully enters Mars' orbit, the probe will collect images of Mars and measure atmospheric components using its onboard high-definition camera, infrared spectrometer, and ultraviolet spectrometer.

The Amal launch is also the first Mars exploration plan in the Arab world. The UAE first announced the "Emirates Mars Mission" (EMM) in July 2014 and set a goal to send a probe to Mars by 2021, the 50th anniversary of the country's founding. After six years of research, they were able to launch Amal.

Sarah Al Amiri, UAE Minister of Advanced Science and Technology, participating in the 2017 TEDx lecture / Photo by YouTube Capture

Sarah Al Amiri (33), UAE Minister of Advanced Sciences and Technology, who led this project, expressed her feelings in an interview with German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle after the successful launch of Amal, saying it was an "indescribable feeling."

Minister Al Amiri has attracted attention as a young female minister who successfully led a massive scientific project in an Arab country where women's social participation is relatively limited.

She majored in computer engineering at the American University of Sharjah in the UAE and earned a related master's degree. She then participated in satellite and unmanned aerial vehicle development at the UAE Advanced Sciences and Technology Authority before taking office as a minister at the age of 30 in 2017.

At that time, Minister Al Amiri attended a TEDx lecture held in Dubai, UAE, where she said, "I dreamed of exploring space after seeing a photo of the Andromeda Galaxy when I was 12 years old."

In her interview with Deutsche Welle, Minister Al Amiri said, "The UAE is a country that joined the (space) competition late from a global perspective," but added, "We are contributing to enhancing the world's understanding of planets. That is why this mission is named 'Amal,' which means 'hope' in Arabic."

Meanwhile, the UAE government hopes this Mars mission will shift its economy from an oil-producing structure to a knowledge-based economy.

Omran Sharaf, the UAE EMM project manager, said in an interview with multiple domestic media outlets on the 1st, "Since announcing the Mars exploration project in 2014, students who were majoring in finance and international relations have switched their majors to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics," adding, "We want to inspire and give dreams to young people to accelerate innovation in preparation for the post-oil era, which will eventually end."

He emphasized, "The Amal probe launched this month will arrive at Mars in February 2021, the 50th anniversary of the UAE's founding," and added, "If a young country only 50 years old succeeds in exploring Mars, it sends a powerful message to the people that there is nothing we cannot achieve in the future."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.