Saudi Gazette report

JEDDAH — The strong and strategic relations between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are based on solid foundations with regard to various common issues, Minister of State for Advanced Technology and head of the UAE Space Agency, Sarah Bint Yousef Al-Amiri, has said.

Talking to influential Arabic daily Okaz, Al-Amiri asserted that the Saudi-UAE Coordination Council aims to create new opportunities that would contribute to the development of the two countries in the space sector.

Furthermore, she said, stress is on finding innovative and effective solutions to the challenges and opening new avenues that contribute to building a knowledge-based and sustainable economy that benefits the people of the two countries.

Talking about the UAE's "Hope Mars Mission” Al-Amiri said the aim is to provide a comprehensive study on the climate of Mars and its various atmospheric layers. She said the satellite will help answer major scientific questions about the Martian atmosphere.

She said that the process of moving the orbiter from the UAE to Japan was the biggest challenge. It required eight engineers to travel in advance to enter into quarantine in Japan, during a trip that lasted over 83 hours, until their arrival on the Tanegashima Island from where the orbiter was launched in July.