The UAE’s project to build the first city on Mars is set to happen in under 100 years, and new research aims to make it possible.
The New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) has found new findings on radiation that will support the UAE’s Mars 2117 Strategy, putting the UAE in a better position to develop new technologies to alleviate the impact of radiation.
“Radiation is one of the biggest roadblocks in planning long-term space missions, especially the project to establish a human presence on Mars,” said research scientist at the Centre for Space Science at NYUAD Dr. Dimitra Atri.
“We found that radiation exposure to astronauts is comparable to the dose that cancer patients receive during radiation treatment. By comparing our calculations with radiation therapy data we have been able to estimate health risks to astronauts from background radiation in space and solar storms.”
He adds: “Equipped with this knowledge, we will be in a better position to develop technologies to mitigate the impact of radiation and help with UAE’s efforts to establish a human base on Mars.”
The Mars 2117 Strategy aims to build the first city on Mars in 100 years, along with finding faster transportation systems to and from Mars and building houses and producing food and energy.
It has also been reported that a senior scientist from NASA, Dr. Lori Glaze believes it will be possible: “I would say that having multiple countries now has increased our capability of going back and forth to Mars.”
As part of the mission to Mars, Dubai also announced its ground-breaking Mars Science City project, the largest space simulation city ever built, and is intended to provide a realistic model to simulate living on the surface of Mars. Get a better look right here.
In the meantime, you can find out more about the Mars Hope probe right here.
