The Finance World Magazine| Edition: March 2023

During the mission, Sultan Al
Neyadi will collaborate with NASA,
the European Space Agency (ESA), the
Canadian Space Agency (CSA), Japan
Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
and the National Centre for Space
Studies (CNES) to conduct 19 scientific
studies across a wide range of topics.
These topics will include cardiovascular
and immune system health, back pain,
technical demonstrations, epigenetics,
fluid science, plant biology, material
science, sleep analysis, and radiation.
During the six months that astronaut
Sultan will be spending on the ISS, the
Emirate Literature Foundation will
collaborate with MBRSC to produce a
weekly broadcast filled with interviews,
engaging facts, competitions, activities,
and opportunities for all students in the
UAE to ask the astronaut questions. The
Centre aims to reach 20,000 students
and children through the initiative,
which is set to become a landmark
in interactive education, bringing the
ground-breaking and exciting work of
the UAE’s space mission to life.
UAE’s Space Economy and Its
Potential for Sustainable Growth:
The UAE has made space industry
a top priority for the next 50 years,
spending AED 22B on space-related
activities between 2015 and 2020.
Contractual agreements for space
services and applications also increased
by 40% in 2020, as reported by the UAE
Space Agency.
In recent years, the country has
implemented strategies to strengthen
its space sector, including the recent
long-term space mission of Emirati
astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi. The UAE
also launched the National Space
Fund, a AED 3B fund to support
innovative programs that encourage
international and local cooperation
in space engineering, sciences, and
research applications.
To support the national space
economy, the UAE Space Agency
created the “Space Economic Zones
Programme” to assist space startups
and SMEs in forming partnerships with
various entities within the country.
The program has three primary
components, including Space Economy
Stimulus Packages, Space Labs, and
the establishment of Space Economic
Zones.
The objectives of the program are
threefold: to develop an appealing
and integrated business environment
that meets both local and international
needs, to enhance the competitiveness
of companies involved in the space
economy, thus increasing demand for
space applications and services, and
to promote innovation and expand the
sector’s economic contribution to the
non-oil GDP of the country.
In collaboration with the Federal
Competitiveness and Statistics Centre
(FCSC), the UAE Space Agency
conducted the “Space Economic
Survey 2022” last year. The survey
included input from various national
entities operating in the space
sector, such as government agencies,
private companies, and academic
and research institutions focused on
space technology and communications
in the UAE. The Space Economic
Survey 2022 evaluates the impact of
the space industry on the national
economy, measuring factors such as
the number of companies engaged in
space activities, foreign investment,
and total spending on space projects.
The survey also examines investment
in research and development, space
exploration, and the number of people
employed in the sector.
The growth of the UAE’s space sector
has the potential for creating new
job opportunities, with estimates
suggesting that the sector currently
employs over 2,000 people in the
country, including highly skilled
engineers, scientists, and technicians
who work across the space industry’s
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