عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Varieties

Saudi Space Commission Reviews Plans for Exploration Missions to Mars, Moon

Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Chairman of the Saudi Space Commission. (Saudi Space Commission)
Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Chairman of the Saudi Space Commission. (Saudi Space Commission)
TT
20
TT

Saudi Space Commission Reviews Plans for Exploration Missions to Mars, Moon

Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Chairman of the Saudi Space Commission. (Saudi Space Commission)
Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Chairman of the Saudi Space Commission. (Saudi Space Commission)

The Saudi Space Commission is reviewing the track of work put into sending exploratory missions to both the Moon and Mars. Concerned authorities in the kingdom have prepared several programs for building national cadres and expanding investment in the space field.

Commission Chairman Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz announced that the agency completed all stages of its establishment and concluded many partnerships and agreements both locally and internationally.

Heading the Commission’s fourth board meeting, which was held via videoconference, Prince Sultan thanked King Salman bin Abdulaziz for the support shown by the country’s leadership and stressed that the kingdom maintains a leading role in the field of space.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is able to maintain leadership by relying on its educated and qualified children who have made many achievements at various levels,” a statement by the Commission, which Asharq Al-Awsat obtained a copy of, cited Prince Sultan as saying.

Prince Sultan explained that King Salman had witnessed Saudi Arabia’s pioneering and historic journey to space in 1985.

Including over 30 Saudi scientists, the mission was met with great success and managed to inspire many countries in the region and the world to invest in outer space for the benefit of humanity.

On raising the levels of investment in the sector, Prince Sultan said that the Commission was cooperating with the Saudi Investment ministry and Public Investment Fund (PIF).

According to the chairman, only a few weeks separate the Commission from launching an entire branch centered on boosting and encouraging investment in the space field.

Apart from securing funds, the new domain will enable the involvement of SMEs.

More so, Prince Sultan predicted that the Kingdom, in two years’ time, will finish assembling an integrated crew with international space agencies. The team is expected to mount space exploration missions to Mars and the Moon.

Prince Sultan also congratulated the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on it Mars “Hope” Probe successfully entering the planet’s orbit.

He affirmed the kingdom’s support for the efforts of the UAE in the projects and programs it is working on in the field of space.

Most Viewed

 
Varieties

Ethiopia's Vast Lake Being Pumped Dry

Lake Dembel's depth has halved since 1990 due to over-pumping. Marco Simoncelli / AFP
Lake Dembel's depth has halved since 1990 due to over-pumping. Marco Simoncelli / AFP
TT
20
TT

Ethiopia's Vast Lake Being Pumped Dry

Lake Dembel's depth has halved since 1990 due to over-pumping. Marco Simoncelli / AFP
Lake Dembel's depth has halved since 1990 due to over-pumping. Marco Simoncelli / AFP

There is a constant hum around Ethiopia's enormous Lake Dembel -- the sound of its water steadily being sucked out by pumps.

The pumps irrigate farms all around the lake, which is four times the size of Manhattan, and are vital for hundreds of thousands of people, AFP said.

Ethiopia has already lost at least one large lake -- Haramaya, in the east of the country -- to over-pumping.

Now it risks losing another.

Lake Dembel's depth has halved since 1990 from four meters to two (13 feet to over six), according to Wetlands International, an NGO.

"If things continue like this, the lake could disappear," said its project manager Desalegn Regassa.

Pumping by farmers and industry is not the lake's only problem. Heavy pesticide use is also killing its fish, locals and the NGO say.

Belachew Derib has been fishing the lake since the 1980s but says stocks are disappearing.

"I built my house thanks to the income from fishing and support my three children through this work," Belachew, 60, told AFP as he rowed his small boat out to pull up his nets.

"Previously, we could catch 20 to 30 fish a day. Nowadays, young fishermen are lucky to catch two or three," he said.

Just a few dozen meters (yards) from the shore, AFP found Habib Bobasso, 35, liberally covering his small onion plot with pesticides from a pump strapped to his back.

"There are many worms that can damage the plants... we could lose the entire harvest," he said as he sprayed, with just a shawl to cover his face.

He knows the pesticides are harmful but sees no alternative.

"The fertilizers and pesticides we use degrade the soil. We spend too much money on fertilizers and chemicals for a low yield," he said.

Degradation

Water management is essential for Ethiopia, a land-locked giant in east Africa with a rapidly growing population already estimated at more than 130 million and often hit by droughts.

But a lack of funds and government oversight has allowed bad practices to continue for decades.

A recent report by the Stockholm International Water Institute blamed Ethiopia's "lackluster policy frameworks" for "the demise of Lake Haramaya, the shrinking of Lake Abijata (and) the pollution of Awash River and Ziway and Hawassa Lakes."

Lately, the government has shown signs it is taking the problem seriously.

It passed a law earlier this year imposing a fee to extract water from Lake Dembel, which lies around 120 kilometers (75 miles) south of the capital Addis Ababa.

A local official, Andualem Gezahegne, told AFP he hoped this would curtail the pumps.

It cannot come too soon -- Wetlands International said there were some 6,000 pumps installed around the lake last year, running 24 hours a day, and "maybe more today".

AFP witnessed two huge tanker trucks filling up for a nearby highway project during a recent visit.

Keeping fishing under control is another challenge, said Andualem.

"Unfortunately, the peak fishing activity coincides with the fish spawning periods, from January to May," he said.

On the surface, the lake is still full of life -- from hippos to marabou storks.

But as the fishermen head out at dawn, the steady hum of the pumps strikes an ominous note for the future.