A renowned scientist who worked on America’s Apollo programme in the 1960s has described the late Sheikh Zayed’s enthusiasm for space exploration.
Dr Farouk El-Baz said he first met the Founding Father in the UAE in 1974, five years after the US landed the first man on the Moon.
At that time, much of the world was still in thrall to the international space race and Nasa’s extraterrestrial ambitions.
Sheikh Zayed also had a great interest in space, and welcomed the chance to meet Dr El-Baz, who was then part of the American space agency team.
“It was my third time meeting him and I was sent there by Nasa, along with three American astronauts and two Russian cosmonauts,” said Dr El-Baz, describing a photo taken at the time.
“There was a space shuttle that was being designed, and we took it with us to show Sheikh Zayed what we had planned.
He was fascinated by it and asked a lot of interesting questions. I was very delighted to meet him early in the game."
“He was fascinated by it and asked a lot of interesting questions. I was very delighted to meet him early in the game.”
Dr El-Baz was speaking during a virtual online discussion held by the Emirates Literature Foundation on Saturday.
The Egyptian American scientist was the lead geologist on the Apollo programme, playing a key role in the Apollo 11 Moon landing mission.
He recalled how on meeting in the UAE, Sheikh Zayed had encouraged him to share his expertise on space exploration with Abu Dhabi school pupils.
A photograph of the men together, along with three Apollo astronauts, would later go on to inspire the Emirate’s first astronaut, Maj Hazza Al Mansouri.
Maj Al Mansouri took a copy of the photo on his mission to the International Space Station last year.
“When I first went there [the UAE] in 1974 to meet him [Sheikh Zayed] about the scientific results of the Apollo mission to the Moon, there were no photographers,” said Dr El-Baz.
“The second time the Apollo 15 astronauts took my photos with him. The third time, the photos in 1976, there was media present.”
In September last year, Maj Al Mansouri became the first Arab astronaut to be sent to the space station.
He spent eight days on board the ISS, where he was involved in performing a series of experiments, before returning to Earth and touching down in Kazakhstan on October 3.
Once back in the UAE, the astronaut recreated the 1976 photo showing the Founding Father that had so inspired him.
This time, the new image included Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.
On Saturday, Dr El-Baz spoke of his hopes for the formation of an Arab space agency.
The UAE has created what is known as the Arab Space Co-operation Group, of which 14 nations are part.
Dr Mohammed Al Ahbabi, director-general of the UAE Space Agency, has said that the country’s long-term goal was to form an Arab space agency.
“We have the capabilities, but the only problem is that we have not looked at our young people and pushed them,” Dr El-Baz said.
“The UAE has reached its position of greatness today only because it supported its young people – men and women.”
This week, the Emirates is scheduled to launch its Hope probe to Mars from the Tanegashima Space Centre in Japan.
Dr El-Baz said research obtained from the mission would benefit scientists around the world.
“We are also going to benefit from the data of wind circulation around Mars that this mission is going to be giving us,” he said.
“We will be able to see the relationship between the wind pattern in the upper atmosphere and the one in lower atmosphere, and therefore understand the creation of the sandstorms on Mars.”
Zaki Nusseibeh, a UAE Minister of State, who was also part of the online discussion, described the probe as a “revolutionary moment”.
“This probe has already established a record that is truly astounding – completed within six years,” he said.
“[The UAE] did not go buy a ready-made probe from a supplier, we are now building our own by collaborating with others.”
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WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
WHAT%20MACRO%20FACTORS%20ARE%20IMPACTING%20META%20TECH%20MARKETS%3F
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Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
One in nine do not have enough to eat
Created in 1961, the World Food Programme is pledged to fight hunger worldwide as well as providing emergency food assistance in a crisis.
One of the organisation’s goals is the Zero Hunger Pledge, adopted by the international community in 2015 as one of the 17 Sustainable Goals for Sustainable Development, to end world hunger by 2030.
The WFP, a branch of the United Nations, is funded by voluntary donations from governments, businesses and private donations.
Almost two thirds of its operations currently take place in conflict zones, where it is calculated that people are more than three times likely to suffer from malnutrition than in peaceful countries.
It is currently estimated that one in nine people globally do not have enough to eat.
On any one day, the WFP estimates that it has 5,000 lorries, 20 ships and 70 aircraft on the move.
Outside emergencies, the WFP provides school meals to up to 25 million children in 63 countries, while working with communities to improve nutrition. Where possible, it buys supplies from developing countries to cut down transport cost and boost local economies.
Previous men's records
- 2:01:39: Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) on 16/9/19 in Berlin
- 2:02:57: Dennis Kimetto (KEN) on 28/09/2014 in Berlin
- 2:03:23: Wilson Kipsang (KEN) on 29/09/2013 in Berlin
- 2:03:38: Patrick Makau (KEN) on 25/09/2011 in Berlin
- 2:03:59: Haile Gebreselassie (ETH) on 28/09/2008 in Berlin
- 2:04:26: Haile Gebreselassie (ETH) on 30/09/2007 in Berlin
- 2:04:55: Paul Tergat (KEN) on 28/09/2003 in Berlin
- 2:05:38: Khalid Khannouchi (USA) 14/04/2002 in London
- 2:05:42: Khalid Khannouchi (USA) 24/10/1999 in Chicago
- 2:06:05: Ronaldo da Costa (BRA) 20/09/1998 in Berlin
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Glossary of a stock market revolution
Reddit
A discussion website
Redditor
The users of Reddit
Robinhood
A smartphone app for buying and selling shares
Short seller
Selling a stock today in the belief its price will fall in the future
Short squeeze
Traders forced to buy a stock they are shorting
Naked short
An illegal practice
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.”
THE BIO
Mr Al Qassimi is 37 and lives in Dubai
He is a keen drummer and loves gardening
His favourite way to unwind is spending time with his two children and cooking
The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
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The specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: nine-speed
Power: 542bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: Dh848,000
On sale: now
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The bio
Favourite food: Japanese
Favourite car: Lamborghini
Favourite hobby: Football
Favourite quote: If your dreams don’t scare you, they are not big enough
Favourite country: UAE
The biog
Family: Parents and four sisters
Education: Bachelor’s degree in business management and marketing at American University of Sharjah
A self-confessed foodie, she enjoys trying out new cuisines, her current favourite is the poke superfood bowls
Likes reading: autobiographies and fiction
Favourite holiday destination: Italy
Posts information about challenges, events, runs in other emirates on the group's Instagram account @Anagowrunning
Has created a database of Emirati and GCC sportspeople on Instagram @abeermk, highlight: Athletes
Apart from training, also talks to women about nutrition, healthy lifestyle, diabetes, cholesterol, blood pressure
