Day: June 30, 2021

DUBAI, Ulugbek Maripov, Prime Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic, met in his office in the capital Bishkek yesterday, a delegation from the Al Maktoum Foundation, headed by Mirza Al Sayegh, Member of the Board of Trustees of the foundation.

The meeting discussed cooperation in the fields of education and social development in the context of the charitable and humanitarian efforts undertaken by the Al Maktoum Foundation since its inception. The Kyrgyz Prime Minister was briefed on several development projects supported by the foundation in the Republic of Kyrgyzstan.

Abdilatif Jumabaev, Ambassador of the Kyrgyz Republic to the UAE, attended the meeting.

Commenting on the meeting, Al Sayegh, said, “The meeting discussed the launch of three development projects such as the construction of a lower and upper primary education school of 12 classes, establishing a centre for sewing clothes to benefit widows and divorcees as well as elderly women with no source of income, and serving Ramadan Iftar.”

Al Sayegh praised the warm reception accorded to the delegation of the foundation by the Kyrgyz Government, especially the prime minister, and for facilitating the launch of the said projects.

He noted that the launch of all of these projects had been ordered by the late Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and sanctioned by his son Sheikh Rashid bin Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Al Maktoum Foundation.

The Kyrgyz Prime Minister commended the visiting delegation and the outstanding relationships between the UAE and the Kyrgyz Republic. He hailed the projects undertaken by the foundation in his country and others run all over the world. In particular, he praised the support of the foundation to the projects of the Ministry of Education and Sciences, Ministry of Health and Community Development, and the Ministry of Investment Development.

Source: Emirates News Agency

DUBAI, The Emirates Mars Mission, the first interplanetary exploration undertaken by an Arab nation, today released the first global images of Mars in the far-ultraviolet, providing new insights into the discrete aurora phenomenon in Mars’ nightside atmosphere. The images have revolutionary implications for our understanding of the interactions between solar radiation, Mars’ magnetic fields and the planetary atmosphere.

“These unique global snapshots of the discrete aurora of Mars are the first time such detailed and clear observations have been made globally, as well as across previously unobservable wavelengths. The implications for our understanding of Mars’ atmospheric and magnetospheric science are tremendous and provide new support to the theory that solar storms are not necessary to drive Mars’ aurora,’ commented Emirates Mars Mission Science Lead, Hessa Al Matroushi.

The images, taken by the Hope Probe’s EMUS (Emirates Mars Ultraviolet Spectrometer) instrument, show a ghostly glow known as the discrete aurora. Its intricate patterns trace out the regions where Mars’ enigmatic crustal magnetic fields act like a funnel to guide fast electrons from space down into the atmosphere, causing it to shimmer in a manner similar to Earth’s aurora. This influence of localised magnetic fields is a unique feature of the Red Planet as Mars, unlike Earth, does not have a global magnetic field generated by the planet’s core. The most sensitive ultraviolet instrument yet to orbit Mars, EMUS is able to image these dynamic auroral events globally at high resolution and across a wide range of wavelengths, providing an unprecedented window upon the interaction of the atmosphere with solar particles.

While previous studies had theorised the discrete aurora is tied to Mars’ magnetic fields and existing observations had been consistent with that theory, prior images of this phenomenon at this quality had only been available as artist’s impressions.

“We have totally blown out ten years of study of Mars’ auroras with ten minutes of observations,” said EMM Deputy Science Lead Justin Deighan. “The data we are capturing confirms the tremendous potential we now have of exploring Mars’ aurora and the interactions between Mars’ magnetic fields, atmosphere and solar particles with a coverage and sensitivity we could only previously dream of. These exciting observations go above and beyond the original science goals of the Emirates Mars Mission.”

One of three instruments on board the Mars Hope Probe, EMUS’ principal science goal is the measurement of oxygen and carbon monoxide in Mars’ thermosphere and the variability of hydrogen and oxygen in the exosphere. Members of the science team who had previously worked on the MAVEN Mission had recognised the potential for the more sensitive EMUS instrument to capture new aspects of Mars’ auroral phenomena, but the results of early observations have exceeded their wildest expectations.

Three types of aurora have been observed around Mars to date: the diffuse aurora are observed only during intense solar storms, when interactions with the highest energy particles cause the atmosphere around the entire planet to light up. In contrast, the discrete aurora is highly localised and observations made to date have appeared to bear out the theory that it is directly linked to the patchy magnetic fields produced by magnetized minerals embedded in Mars’ surface. Both of these aurorae are observed on Mars’ nightside, while a third class, the proton aurora, has been measured on Mars’ dayside and is driven by interactions between the solar wind and Hydrogen in Mars’ exosphere. These three types of aurora had previously been identified by ultraviolet instruments aboard the Mars Express and MAVEN missions orbiting Mars, but clear global images of the discrete aurora were elusive until the new observations by EMM.

“Mars’ aurorae are an area of intense interest to the global scientific community and their study has tremendous potential to challenge, expand and deepen our understanding of Mars’ atmosphere and its interaction with the planet and with solar energies,” said Matroushi. “We were hopeful that EMUS could make a contribution in this area but we now know with absolute certainty that contribution is going to be ground breaking.”

Hope is following its planned 20,000 – 43,000 km elliptical science orbit, with an inclination to Mars of 25 degrees. The probe will complete one orbit of the planet every 55 hours and will capture a full planetary data sample every nine days in a two-year mission to map Mar’s atmospheric dynamics.

EMM and the Hope probe are the culmination of a knowledge transfer and development effort started in 2006, which has seen Emirati engineers working with partners around the world to develop the UAE’s spacecraft design, engineering and manufacturing capabilities. Hope is a fully autonomous spacecraft, carrying three instruments to measure Mars’ atmosphere. Weighing some 1,350 kg, and approximately the size of a small SUV, the spacecraft was designed and developed by MBRSC engineers working with academic partners, including LASP at the University of Colorado, Boulder; Arizona State University and the University of California, Berkeley.

The Emirates Mars Mission will study the Martian atmosphere, the relationship between the upper layer and lower regions and, for the first time, the international science community will have full access to a holistic view of the Martian atmosphere at different times of the day, through different seasons. In addition, it will now aim to make significant contributions to our understand of Mars’ aurorae.

The Hope Probe’s historic journey to the Red Planet coincides with a year of celebrations to mark the UAE’s Golden Jubilee.

Source: Emirates News Agency

DUBAI, Dubai’s Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management has encouraged citizens and residents in the country to be fully vaccinated before they travel abroad.

H.H. Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum today chaired a meeting of the Committee to review the precautionary measures being implemented to curb the spread of COVID-19 against the background of the evolving global situation in which new highly-transmissible variants of the virus are raising the risks of infection.

With the holiday season round the corner, the Committee urged citizens and residents planning to travel abroad to commence their overseas journeys only 14 days after receiving the second dose of the vaccine, which allows sufficient time for the body to maximise its immune preparedness.

Emphasising that vaccination is the most important tool of protection against COVID-19, the Supreme Committee said it is encouraged by the fact that the UAE is ranked the highest in the world for vaccine doses distributed per 100 persons. The country’s National Vaccination Campaign has so far administered over 15 million vaccine doses, with its distribution rate reaching 152.41 doses for every 100 persons.

The Committee advised travelers to observe utmost caution when travelling overseas and avoid visiting places that are experiencing a severe outbreak of COVID-19. The Committee also advised travellers to thoroughly understand and fully abide by the precautionary protocols of their destination countries to avoid infection risks.

Observing meticulous hygiene and strict precautionary measures including social distancing and mask wearing while travelling and spending time in public places is essential to minimise infection risks, it stressed. Avoiding crowded areas and potential exposure to infected people is also vital to ensure the lowest possible risk of infection, the Committee added.

The Committee noted that despite the current global situation, Dubai continues to be at the forefront of cities maintaining the highest levels of protection against the pandemic. The city has one of the world’s most rigorous globally-benchmarked precautionary protocol regimes, enabling it to provide exceptional safety benchmarks for the benefit of citizens, residents and visitors.

Source: Emirates News Agency

DUBAI, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has approved the new Board of the Dubai Media Council.

The Board will provide overall direction for advancing the Council’s mandate to accelerate the development of the media sector and its role in the growth of Dubai’s economy, apart from attracting leading media players to the emirate. The Board will drive the Council’s efforts to provide guidance to Dubai media organisations on conveying an accurate picture of the emirate’s development journey to regional and global audiences. The Board also seeks to promote digital media growth in line with emerging global trends.

The new Board is chaired by H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Mona Al Marri, Director General of the Government of Dubai Media Office is the Vice Chairperson and Managing Director of the Dubai Media Council. Other members of the board include Dr. Amina Abdul Wahid Al Rostamani, Hala Youssef Badri, Malek Sultan Al Malek, Abdullah Humaid Belhoul, Amal Ahmed Juma bin Shabib, Essam Kadhim, Mohammed Sulaiman Al Mulla and Al Anood Mohammed bin Kalli. Nehal Badri serves as Secretary General of the Dubai Media Council.

Dubai Media Council oversees the strategy of various leading organisations in Dubai’s media industry including Dubai Media Incorporated, Dubai Media City, Dubai Studio City, Dubai Production City, leading TV and Radio networks, newspapers and the Dubai Film and TV Commission. The Council is also tasked with developing a comprehensive strategy for enhancing the growth of the media industry in Dubai, raising Dubai’s status as an international media hub and fostering the development of local and Arab media talent.

The Dubai Media Council was established through a decision approved by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum during the first meeting of the Dubai Council in January 2020, in line with the ‘4th of January Document’ announced by His Highness the Ruler of Dubai.

Source: Emirates News Agency