Issue 2: Reaching for the Stars
Welcome to Backstory: Space. This is a special edition of our weekly newsletter devoted to the UAE’s upcoming mission to Mars – Mary Ames, Director of Strategy
TAKING FLIGHT
Reaching for the Stars
Welcome back to our special series on space. In less than one week, the UAE will make history. On a remote Japanese island, the UAE will launch the Arab world’s first deep space mission with a Mars probe called Amal, or ‘Hope’. This extraordinary moment comes as humanity faces an unprecedented challenge in the Covid-19 pandemic. Ironically, space exploration and Covid-19 have something in common: Isolation. People everywhere have had to stay home, social distance, and work remotely to curtail the spread of the virus. Astronauts on deep space missions have some lessons for negotiating time alone.
Planned isolation: The Hope probe is an unmanned mission that will collect vital scientific data about Mars. Scientists are hopeful this data will help future manned missions to the red planet. But how will humans withstand the isolation that comes with travelling such far distances? The expected travel time of the Hope probe is about 200 days and it will travel more than 60 million kilometers. As we learn more about the psychological effects of isolation in space, we can use the knowledge to help us at home.
Spirit of innovation: The link between isolation in space and on Earth is one of several areas where space exploration ends up transforming our lives. The technology required to explore space pushes all matters of scientific inquiry forward. The gravity of the challenges that space travel presents for scientists and engineers forces them to think outside the box. That spirit of innovation is exactly why the UAE’s Hope probe is so vital for the future of the country. As the UAE continues to build a dynamic knowledge economy, we need a space program that pushes the boundaries and shows us what’s possible.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Never limit yourself because of others’ limited imagination; never limit others because of your own limited imagination.”
– Mae Jemison, American astronaut
SPACE VIEWS
Our writing on space: Given the pace of technological innovation over the past 10 years, every day seems to bring a new milestone. With so many advancements, have we lost control of the terms we use to describe aspiration? When the United States set the goal of sending a man to the moon in the 1960s, the boldness of the project and its extraordinary vision was accurately described as a moon shot. In this 2019 piece published by Xische, we explored the new moon shots taking place in the UAE.
The space club: When Hazza Al Mansouri lifted off from a remote Russian space facility in Kazakhstan, he carried the hopes and aspirations of a nation and a people. His mission to the International Space Station marked the UAE’s admission to the space club. In this piece published by Xische, we outlined what it means for a small country to take a seat among the most powerful nations leading human exploration of space.
A MESSAGE FROM DIGITAI
Artificial Intelligence can work for you. The pace of AI innovation is undeniable. With so many options to choose from, how can you be sure that you are making AI work for your needs? Discover what we’re doing at Digit Ai, a Xische company, to accelerate organisational capacity building that leverages AI and machine learning. Find solutions that make business sense and embrace the power of AI.
SPOTTED ELSEWHERE
Living on Mars: In a remote corner of Hawaii, there’s a fake Mars. Scientists have created a Mars colony to study what it would be like for humans to travel and live on the red planet. Volunteers live in the colony for months on end with access to the outside world essentially cut off. The podcasting company Gimlet traveled there in 2018 and created an incredible six part series on what they found. It’s definitely worth a listen.
Space economy: You can’t think about space exploration without mentioning Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The private company recently sent two astronauts into space and ushered in a new chapter in private space travel. While we’ve talked about the myriad benefits of space exploration for Earth, the fact is that the space economy is booming. According to Quartz, this year the space economy will be worth close to $1 trillion. That’s no small potatoes.
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