From desert to Mars
Dubai, Oct 23 (ET):UAE has appointed a minister of Artificial Intelligence as part of the Arab state's ambition to be at the forefront of the global technological revolution and also a life beyond oil. Emirates, as it is popularly known, sees this appointment as step to its ambitious plan to build homes on the planet Mars by 2117.
It will put it in the elite club trying to put people on Mars, which includes the US, China, Russia and a consortium of European nations. The UAE plans to have a fully functioning city of 600,000 people on Mars.
Effort to establish a space industry
The Gulf state has launched a multipronged effort to establish a space industry in which it has invested more than $5 billion, and that includes four satellites already in space and another due to launch in 2018.
Economy beyond oil
This is how the city, which will house close to 60,000 will look like. UAE is keen to diversify its economy beyond oil into high-technology sectors, and its oil reserves give it immense financial power that it could use to buy expertise.
UAE Space Agency
A UAE Space Agency will be set up to supervise the mission and develop a space technology industry in the country, a government statement said.
Many facilities
The Mars city will be made of several domes along with latest techniques that will support the structures. The project will include laboratories for food. It will also have the facility of soil testing and research about food security for the future.
Unmanned probe to Mars by 2021
United Arab Emirates also plans to send an unmanned probe to Mars by 2021, in the Arab world’s first mission to another planet.