CAPE CANAVERAL, USA, Mar 4< /strong> The United Arab Emirates is collaborating with the US and Russian space agencies on scientific experiments designed to help humanity populate Mars in the future, said Mohammed bin Rashid Amir al-Ghaferi, senior director of the Department of Space Engineering at the Space Center.
«The construction of settlements on Mars requires developed international cooperation. One of the tasks we are working on is to establish international cooperation at the organizational level, as well as to search for new partners with whom we can work in this area,» al-Gaferi said in an interview. with an agency at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
According to him, one of the areas of work of the Emirati Space Center is to study the resources available on the surface of the Moon and Mars, as well as how exactly a person can use them for the subsequent settlement of these celestial bodies.
«We are conducting many scientific experiments together with Roscosmos and NASA as part of analog missions to make sure that we can deliver people to Mars and create conditions for them to live,» the agency's source explained .
The scientist added that the current generation of researchers will probably not live to see such ambitious plans come true. Meanwhile, he notes, «we need to make sure we pass on something to the next generation that they can benefit from.»
Al-Gaferi, who previously visited Baikonur as part of a working trip, spoke with warmth and nostalgia about his Russian colleagues and expressed confidence that cooperation between space explorers in Russia and the UAE will continue in the future.
«Unfortunately, I did not have a chance to spend much time in Russia, but we carried out the first two (rocket) launches jointly with the Russian Federation «I spent, it seems to me, almost a month at Baikonur. We liked it. The atmosphere reigning there is unique, and I will always have wonderful memories of working in Russia. We will continue to cooperate with her further,» the Emirati scientist said.
The UAE has planned a massive space exploration program for the coming year, which kicked off with the dispatch of the first Emirati astronaut, Hazzaa al-Mansouri, to the International Space Station in 2019. The country is currently selecting new candidates for the Emirati Space Squad and plans to make the first landing on Mars by 2037.
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