New Delhi: As the space war intensifies, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has come up with a new programme that will make humans' longtime dream of settling on the Red Planet a reality.
The UAE, having scaled the heights of Earth with the world's tallest building, has now announced its plans to build first city on Mars by 2117.
The UAE's Mars 2117 Project was announced by Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and Sheikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, Gulf News reported on Tuesday.
UAE's 2117 Mars project, which will be in collaboration with specialised international organisations and scientific institutes, aims to explore how people can get to Mars and how to create food and energy on the Red Planet.
The announcement was made on the sidelines of the World Government Summit in the presence of representatives of 138 governments, six major international organisations, as well as leading international tech companies.
As part of a 100-year national programme, the UAE will set in operation a plan to prepare national cadres who can achieve scientific breakthroughs to facilitate the transport of people to the Red Planet over the next decades.
The 100-year plan will involve scientific research programmes to nurture national cadres specialised in space sciences at universities in the UAE.
"The landing of people on other planets has been a longtime dream for humans. Our aim is that the UAE will spearhead international efforts to make this dream a reality," said Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid.
Sheikh Mohammad Bin Zayed said the short-term goal is to develop the capacities and skills of Emiratis.
"The 2117 Mars initiative is a long-term project, which will first help develop our education, universities and research centres that will empower young Emiratis to enter all disciplines of scientific research fields," he said.
In 2015, the UAE announced its Mars Probe mission, which will send the Arab world's first spacecraft to the Red Planet in a scientific exploration mission that will land on planet in 2021.
The 2117 Mars project will also try to find faster transportation methods for travelling to and from Mars.
Meanwhile, SpaceX's Elon Musks and NASA have expressed their plans to send humans to Mars as early as 2020s and 2030s, although both have a common obstacle in their ambitious plans – lack of funds.
(With IANS inputs)
