The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Breakthrough Research Center has financially supported space-related projects by scientists from different countries.
The Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Breakthrough Research Center (MBRCAR), initiated by the Dubai Future Foundation (DFF), has funded numerous projects related to environmental and space exploration - using 3D printing, creating bionic factories and producing water on Mars.
The research was carried out as part of the Space Settlement Challeng project in collaboration with a new research funding platform called Guana. This is happening against the backdrop of the deepening UAE participation in the space sector, in particular, the implementation of the Mars exploration program by the UAE Space Agency.
The first study, funded by Cemvita, based in Houston, Texas, focused on ways to utilize carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to make it useful, similar to how plants convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen during photosynthesis.
Another study at Arizona State University involved using robotics and 3D printing to produce building blocks, which can be used to create space settlements.
Another project underway at the Swedish University of Technology in Luleå involves the production of water using moisture-absorbing salts found on Mars. A grant from the MBRCAR Center allowed researchers to conduct field trials at the Bowlby mine in northern England, where various salts are mined.
In total, the program launched and completed 35 projects selected from 275 applications submitted by scientists from universities and research institutes in countries such as Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Morocco, Singapore, Switzerland, Great Britain, the USA, and UAE
Abdulaziz Al-Jaziri, DFF Deputy Director General, noted that the choice of funded research reflects the commitment of the MBRCAR Center to support projects related to space technologies that "will also improve life on Earth."
"This is in line with the desire of the Dubai Future Foundation to collaborate and partner with research institutions around the world to create new ideas and innovations for a better future," he said.
