The UAE’s historic project to send an unmanned probe to Mars by 2021 would benefit all humanity and its findings would be made available to all countries to use, said His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. Presiding over a brainstorming session with his team on Saturday, Shaikh Mohammed said the goal of the project is to develop knowledge within universities and research centres and to build national capabilities in the fields of aerospace, Khaleej Times reported.
Shaikh Mohammed said the Mars project requires lots of studies and research, leading to hosts of long-term benefits, including emergence of new sectors in the national economy, catering for telecommunications, satellites and data transfer, the report added.
”Retaining the same spot is, in fact, regress because the world is progressing and nations are competing,” Shaikh Mohammed said when asked what would be next for the UAE to achieve after it earned the title of most efficient government in the world, according to a report by the Swiss-based International Institute for Management Development (IMD).
He noted that achieving excellence is an ever-going quest that has no final destination. “There are a lot of fields for competition. The government also has many challenges to confront and handle. People’s expectations are ever changing so there should be continuous development.”