The UAE Cabinet has approved the restructuring of the Board of the UAE Space Agency under the chairmanship of Dr. Ahmad bin Abdullah Humaid Belhoul Al Falasi (photo), Minister of State for Higher Education and Advanced Skills, Emirates news agency WAM reported.
The Board of Directors includes Hamad Obaid Al Mansouri, Chairman of the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre as Vice President; Khalid Abdullah Al Mazrouei, Advisor to His Highness the Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces; Badr Salim Sultan Al Olama, Head of the Aviation Manufacturing unit at Mubadala; Brigadier General Dr. Mubarak Saeed Gafan Al Jabri, and Colonel Salem Butti Salem Al Qubaisi from UAE Armed Forces.
Also Yousuf Hamad Al Shaibani, Director-General of MBRSC, Abdul Rahman Al Hammadi, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Education’s Support Services Department, Masood Sharif Mahmood, Chief Executive of the UAE satellite operator YahSat, and Dr. Bahjat Al Yousuf from Masdar.
The UAE Space Agency was established in 2014 as the first Arab space agency to regulate and guide space sector to contribute to the national economy and sustainable development. The agency undertakes the preparation of future generations with high professional qualifications, and the development of related research and programs.
The Space Agency has succeeded in being the first Arab and Islamic exploration mission of Mars through the Probe of Hope project and its collaboration with the Masdar Institute of the Khalifa University of Science and Technology, as well as the American University of Ras al-Khaimah. The UAE is one of only nine countries to explore Mars.
In the past years, the agency has succeeded in promoting national space sector and shaping its legislative and legal aspects through the issuance of the UAE National Space Policy and the signing of 16 Memoranda of Understanding, MoUs, with space agencies and organizations in the field of space exploration and knowledge exchange. It also signed MoUs with eight leading universities in the UAE for cooperation in the fields of education, research, and science.
