People who believe the Earth is flat should be given a ride on a Blue Origin suborbital flight, so they can see the globe's curvature, a UAE space tourist has said.
Hamish Harding, who flew on a New Shepard flight on June 4, told The National that if there was a community effort to fund a flat-Earther’s ticket, he would contribute.
Despite scientific and technological advancement in the world, there is still a large population that believes that the Earth is flat, not a sphere, and that the Apollo Moon landings were a hoax. These people have been popularly labelled as 'flat-Earthers'.
There are international societies dedicated to the belief, which run campaigns to convince others.
Everyone was on edge and as he went as he went up there. You could see at the bottom of the rocket that there was massive amount of smoke. I was obviously very nervous
Giles Harding,
Hamish Harding's son
“I'd love to send the most committed flat-Earther in the world into space on what I’ve just done with Blue Origin and see what he thinks,” said Mr Harding, who is the chairman of Action Aviation, which provides aircraft brokerage services to business jet and helicopter owners.
“Because it’s pretty convincing up there. You can see the Earth is round. Looking out of the window was the best bit of this mission.”
The price of a New Shepard flight ticket has not been revealed by Blue Origin, although its competitor Virgin Galactic charges $450,000 per passenger.
A 2018 YouGov survey of 8,000 Americans showed that 2 per cent of the US population believes that the Earth is flat. Five per cent of the public that said they used to believe that the planet was round but were beginning to have doubts.
A survey of 2,000 adults by the Datafolha Institute in 2019 revealed that 7 per cent of Brazilians believe the planet is flat.
Last year, a Scottish man set up a GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign to send a flat-Earther on a Virgin Galactic flight.
He managed to raise £345 for his £250,000 goal, which is what the flight costed at the time. However, Virgin Galactic flights are not currently operational.
On Blue Origin, passengers experience five-minutes of weightlessness during the flight and can see the Earth’s delicate atmosphere from the capsule’s large windows.
Mr Harding said flat-Earthers could also experience the Overview Effect like he did, often described by astronauts as a powerful shift in how a person views the planet and life.
“You start to think about the world as a small place. You don't see country boundaries from space. The world should work a bit more together.
“It seems crazy that so much GDP is destroyed by so much conflict and political parties fighting each other.
“If you can look out in space, I think people will gradually begin to realise there's a lot more to be achieved for the human race by co-operation.”
‘Space tourists should be called astronauts’
Blue Origin has flown 26 people to the edge of space since 2021, including company owner Jeff Bezos and Star Trek actor William Shatner.
As the space tourism industry grows, there has been a debate around whether passengers should be called astronauts. Mr Harding believes they should earn that title.
“I think they should be called that because the definition of astronauts, rightly or wrongly, is anybody who's been above the Karman line, which is the 100 kilometre line above Earth,” he said.
“And anyone who has been above that line is defined by the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) as being an astronaut.”
Mr Harding’s son might be next in space
Mr Harding said both of his sons, Rory, 17, and Giles, 14, are interested in going to space.
Rory will be turning 18 soon and will be eligible to ride on a space tourism flight.
When asked if Rory is next in line, Mr Harding said “watch this space”.
“I would absolutely be willing for both my sons, including Rory, who's turning 18 shortly, to go on the flight.”
Giles said he felt “proud but nervous” for his father, as the rocket launched him into space. The Dubai College pupil was present for the launch along with his mother and brother.
“There was pin-drop silence when the rocket was about to lift-off,” he said.
“Everyone was on edge and as he went as he went up there, it was kind of a surreal moment.
“You could see at the bottom of the rocket that there was massive amount of smoke.
“I was very excited, but also obviously very nervous.”
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
MAIN CARD
Bantamweight 56.4kg
Abrorbek Madiminbekov v Mehdi El Jamari
Super heavyweight 94 kg
Adnan Mohammad v Mohammed Ajaraam
Lightweight 60kg
Zakaria Eljamari v Faridoon Alik Zai
Light heavyweight 81.4kg
Mahmood Amin v Taha Marrouni
Light welterweight 64.5kg
Siyovush Gulmamadov v Nouredine Samir
Light heavyweight 81.4kg
Ilyass Habibali v Haroun Baka
Stats at a glance:
Cost: 1.05 billion pounds (Dh 4.8 billion)
Number in service: 6
Complement 191 (space for up to 285)
Top speed: over 32 knots
Range: Over 7,000 nautical miles
Length 152.4 m
Displacement: 8,700 tonnes
Beam: 21.2 m
Draught: 7.4 m
The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000
Engine 3.6L V6
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm
Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km
The specs: 2019 BMW X4
Price, base / as tested: Dh276,675 / Dh346,800
Engine: 3.0-litre turbocharged in-line six-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 354hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm @ 1,550rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.0L / 100km
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Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Ads on social media can 'normalise' drugs
A UK report on youth social media habits commissioned by advocacy group Volteface found a quarter of young people were exposed to illegal drug dealers on social media.
The poll of 2,006 people aged 16-24 assessed their exposure to drug dealers online in a nationally representative survey.
Of those admitting to seeing drugs for sale online, 56 per cent saw them advertised on Snapchat, 55 per cent on Instagram and 47 per cent on Facebook.
Cannabis was the drug most pushed by online dealers, with 63 per cent of survey respondents claiming to have seen adverts on social media for the drug, followed by cocaine (26 per cent) and MDMA/ecstasy, with 24 per cent of people.
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
