As I sit with my father and watch my nation, UAE’s first astronaut Hazzaa Al Mansoori blasting off towards International Space Station (ISS), I feel very inspired and proud of this historic launch as the UAE writes history. The UAE space program is now creating a new wave of passion and excitement in Emirati youth, encouraging more and more of them to explore space and astronomy. Achievements like these crystalize the great vision of our great leadership and show how futuristic thinkers the UAE is blessed with. Remember, we are a nation which is not even 50 years old!
Culture of space
This historic mission is a start of a new space culture in the UAE and the Arab world, which will promote STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) subjects amongst our youth and push a knowledge and scientific research-based environment.
All the experiments that Hazzaa’s will be conducting during this mission will mainly help to understand the impact of space on human body, resulting in advancements in better healthcare solutions and new ways of treatments. The results of these experiments that Hazzaa will bring back to earth will greatly help the data and space studies previously conducted. With support of these research results, young Emiratis like me will be encouraged to take a deep dive into exploratory research and innovate.
Connecting bright minds through space
Recently, the UAE education system introduced Moral Education, which has a very positive impact on our students and young society. I believe we can similarly launch a UAE Space Education for our students. This Space Education will be an excellent tool to inspire, educate and engage great young minds right from a very young age. The programs can vary from fun-club based education for the young ones all the way to competitions and research-based experiments to solve real life complex problems faced by Astronauts at ISS and other complicated space problems. This will form as our DNA for next generations.
Ammar H. Sajwani is a 12-year old Emirati student with interests in space, astronomy and tech; you can reach him on mailto: Sajwani.hasan@gmail.com
