The establishment of a space settlement center aims to study the behavior of astronauts before joining the actual flights
Muscat - The Sultanate of Oman has taken rapid steps in recent years to enter the world of space and its sciences, by joining a number of international treaties and agreements, establishing specialized centers, supporting experiments and research, and striving to launch the first artificial satellite.
The latest efforts in this field were the establishment of the Space Settlement Center, which aims to study the behavior of astronauts before joining the actual flights, as well as serving scientists, researchers and those interested in conducting their experiments in the space sector, artificial intelligence and advanced technology.
The project offers analog tasks, which are bio-simulation tasks for space exploration and testing its effects on the psychological and physiological health of astronauts, where the volunteer lives in isolation for a period of time to perform an experimental space mission, in a center that is established on an area of 20,000 square meters in the area designated for artificial intelligence experiments in the Special Economic Zone in Duqm.
In the context of interest in this field, the Sultanate has signed a number of agreements and treaties, most notably joining the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Field of Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, and joining the Convention for the Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space, and the Convention for Saving Navigators. Aliens and return and response objects launched into outer space.
It also agreed to accede to the Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects.
The launch of the first artificial satellite
In January 2022, the Sultanate of Oman signed an agreement, the first of its kind, with a group of foreign companies, to prepare satellite launch platforms, to be a complement to a number of space logistics projects.
The agreement was signed between the emerging global technology company “ITCO”, an Omani company established in 2020, and the US companies “Virgin Orbit”, the leading US satellite launch company, the Polish “Sat Revolution” for the manufacture and operation of nano-satellites, and the American “Tuatara” specialized in artificial intelligence. Advanced data analytics and cognitive technology solutions.
The agreement aims to launch the first Omani satellite into low Earth orbit to conduct scientific research and help predict the effects of climate change or natural disasters.
The project will also provide investment opportunities for universities to open new horizons for the next generation of space explorers and innovators in the space sector, and invest in national talents . Efforts to attract the latest technologies to build a sustainable knowledge economy, through the transfer of knowledge and expertise, and the localization of knowledge through the promotion and development of Omani competencies.
Growing sector
Jaafar added that the project opens the way for local and international institutions to invest in this growing sector and take advantage of the strategic location of the Sultanate of Oman as a destination for launching satellites and serving research and space sector activities in the region.
It is noteworthy that "ETCO", which specializes in modern technologies, and is made up of Omani staff, signed a memorandum of understanding in 2021 to manufacture satellite parts in the Sultanate, with the Italian company De Orbit, on the sidelines of the Sultanate of Oman's participation in the International Space Conference in Dubai, UAE.
The memorandum of understanding concluded with the establishment of a facility to manufacture parts for small and medium satellites and space logistics in the Sultanate of Oman, and the transfer of Italian knowledge and expertise and the localization of knowledge for young Omani competencies.
This project, which is the first of its kind in the Sultanate of Oman, contributes to the establishment of a national base of competencies in the space industries and is an attractive factor for investments in this sector.
This partnership with the Italian company - which is considered one of the most prominent space manufacturing companies in the world - will contribute to covering part of the market needs in the region for medium and small satellites and finding auxiliary manufacturing lines for associated space technologies, according to what was confirmed by Engineer Ammar bin Salem Al Rawahi, Director General of the Space Sector. Space Technologies at Emerging Global Technologies Company (ETCO) for Oman News Agency .
The surface of Mars in the desert of Oman
The Oman desert is an ideal environment for simulation, experiments and space research, where many scientists, specialists and researchers conduct several space experiments in it, due to the similarity of its properties with the planet Mars.
In 2018, a crew of international astronauts headed to Marmul to conduct experiments simulating living on Mars, as part of the Mars Simulation Project (Amady 18), which was hosted by the Sultanate as one of its international contributions to space research and studies in the field of human space exploration and exploration.
The crew of 16 people from the countries of the Sultanate of Oman, France, Germany, Britain, Austria, Spain, the Netherlands and Portugal spent 3 weeks in almost complete isolation, during which they conducted simulations in several aspects such as tests of spacecraft wheels and robots to collect samples, their movements on the surface and their ability to take samples and information and send them to the information center located in Austria.
The Sultanate of Oman’s orientation in the field of space and investment in it is due to its importance in developing the technical and innovative sectors in order to achieve the objectives of Oman’s Vision 2040, by creating a competitive, diversified and integrated economy based on future foresight, innovation and the creation of advanced infrastructure and technology.
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SCIENCE UPDATE