In a tweet posted on Sunday morning, UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan announced new government support for the UAE's space program.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan shared the news on Twitter, stating that his government will launch a three billion AED (~$816 million USD) worth of new initiative to develop its space capabilities.
Source: Twitter
According to the tweet, the new fund will help "develop radar satellites that are expected to expand the UAE's growing capabilities in this vital sector while accelerating innovation in environmental sustainability".
The UAE Space Program
The UAE has shown a growing interest in developing its space capabilities in recent years, which started in 2009 as the UAE government established both the Earth Observation Space Center in Abu Dhabi and the United Arab Emirates Space Agency.
In July 2020, the UAE announced launching the Hope uncrewed spacecraft into space within the Emirates Mars Mission, which was designed, developed, and operated by the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre.
This comes at a time the UAE has been undergoing drastic economic changes all aimed at diversifying the country's formerly oil-based economy.
