UAE Space Agency calls for Private Sector participation in Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt
Under the new campaign, Space Means Business, UAE Space Agency is highlighting new business opportunities open to private sector companies as a result of the commitment to award at least 50 percent of the overall contracted mission to private sector companies for its Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt (EMA), the first multiple-asteroid tour and landing mission to the main belt.
“From software development to mission control, we are committed to a private sector first approach to developing the Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt. This campaign to recruit businesses to the mission forms part of a long-term commitment to diving an ambitious, vibrant and fast-growing private space sector in the Emirates,” commented EMA program director, Mohsen Al Awadhi. “The opportunities are truly endless, from software and hardware systems design and delivery through to subsystem assembly, solar power and other electrical systems development to mission operations and management.”
EMA will drive significant economic opportunities, including new start-ups, international partnerships and inward investment to the UAE space sector, creating new commercial opportunities to accelerate the growth of innovation and advanced technology companies in the Emirates. The Space Means Business campaign will build outreach to academia, potential start-ups, existing global space sector players and companies with the potential to pivot existing R&D and operations to meet the needs of the space sector.
“Our core goal here is to drive new business opportunities based around sustainable innovation and the development of heritage that will open up new opportunities in the $1 trillion global space industry.”UAE Space agency chair and Minister for Advanced Technology, Sarah Al Amiri
“Through our work with the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, we are able to identify a number of technologically advanced companies operating in the Emirates today who can make commercially viable contributions to EMA and to benefit from the wider UAE space sector opportunity,” commented UAE Space agency chair and Minister for Advanced Technology, Sarah Al Amiri. “Our core goal here is to drive new business opportunities based around sustainable innovation and the development of heritage that will open up new opportunities in the $1 trillion global space industry.”
The UAE National Space Strategy supports the provision of start-up and investment funds, providing spacecraft assembly integration and test (AIT) facilities as a service and mission operations as a service to support and encourage start-ups and innovation. Additionally, the UAE Space Agency is offering Emirati space start-ups business formation support, zero barrier to entry office and back-office facilities as well as ongoing mentoring and funding as part of its Space Economic Zones initiative.
EMA comprises a thirteen-year mission: a six-year spacecraft development period followed by a seven-year flight to the main asteroid belt beyond Mars, performing a series of close flybys to make unique observations of seven main belt asteroids, including a rendezvous with the puzzling spectrally red asteroid, (269) Justitia. The mission builds on the learnings, capabilities, innovations and heritage of the Emirates Mars Mission and aims to further accelerate the development of the Emirates’ private space sector and national capabilities in advanced technology innovation.
The development of EMA is supported by Space Academy, a UAE Space Agency led apprenticeship program for the UAE’s space sector that expedites the development of engineering, technical and innovation expertise across a number of national institutions.
