In 2023, wearing the Emirati flag on his shoulder, Sultan Al Neyadi completed the ‘first Arab spacewalk in history’. It was the first in the Arab world, but – as Al Neyadi put it – it ‘definitely won’t be the last’. The very next month, Saudi Arabia sent two astronauts to the International Space Station.
Both countries, like others in the Middle East, have big ambitions for space. The UAE has entered into space tourism with Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’ aerospace company, and included space mining in its recently released space policy. It’s actively considering legislation on space mining – a potential $1,900 billion industry. Al Neyadi has tested technology in space that can 3D-print knee cartilage tissue, and back on Earth, in Abu Dhabi, the Hub71 technology park is bringing together investors and tech start-ups to boost the growth of this booming space ecosystem.
Saudi, meanwhile, plans to conduct a range of experiments in space. In pharmaceutical research, it wants to make use of microgravity and the conditions in space in order to understand protein crystalline structures and produce new medicine, in what could drive explosive growth in the global pharmaceutical market, estimated to be worth around $1.6 trillion.
It plans to run an experiment looking at cloud seeding in space: creating artificial rain for low-gravity environments, such as the Moon and Mars. Success in that experiment could revolutionise the $12,500 billion agriculture industry.
Some of these projects will take a few years to materialise, but there are massive opportunities that are already existent and taking shape right now. As Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company announces its plan to invest ‘significant capital’ in AI and space technology this year, a question arises: Why is space so important? And what can we expect from the Middle East this year?
The world economy’s backbone
Space infrastructure has become the spine of the world economy. Applications enabled by space bring greater efficiency and greater productivity to numerous industries, from transportation and agriculture to communication and finance.
Satellite and ground infrastructure are fuelling developments in analytics, improving the precision of positioning, stabilising communication and making connectivity ubiquitous. The space industry is outperforming even the world’s best economies, and space investments are besting the wider market. The World Economic Forum calls space a ‘$1.8 trillion opportunity for global economic growth’. That makes investing in space technology a smart move for any country – regardless of region.
Space for sustainability
But one key reason why countries in the Middle East in particular are investing in space is because of the role it is, and will, play in the climate crisis.
Independent research commissioned by Inmarsat found that these technologies are already lowering global carbon emissions by a staggering 1.5 billion tonnes annually. To put this into perspective, this is equivalent to the cumulative emissions from 50 million cars throughout their lifetime.
And the potential for further emissions reductions through the universal adoption of satellite technologies is substantial. According to an analysis by Globant, these technologies could potentially increase annual CO2 savings to up to 5.5 billion tonnes, based on current technology capabilities alone. This would amount to about a sixth of the total carbon emissions needed to limit the increase in global temperature to less than 1.5°C by 2030.
It isn’t just CO2. Satellite technology, which frees decision-makers from having to depend on unreliable self-reported data from companies, can also paint an accurate picture of methane emissions, enabling governments to understand their methane emissions and bring them down rapidly. For example, Saudi Arabia is using satellite technology to measure methane emissions from O&G production.
The future of agriculture
Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority has said it aims to develop sustainable agriculture while protecting wildlife and ensuring food security. This would be extremely difficult to do without the support of satellites.
Space-enabled technologies like Earth observation, Global Navigation Satellite System, satellite communication and connectivity play a critical role by enabling yield estimation and optimization, more sustainable soil, water and fertiliser use, as well as the autonomy of equipment and ongoing monitoring.
It can detect pests through hyperspectral and optical satellite imagery, which, if implemented on a large scale, has the potential to save up to 0.8 billion tonnes of crops a year. Additionally, satellite-informed irrigation improvements can lead to a reduction in water usage by 5-10%, equivalent to saving up to 2.8 billion litres of freshwater.
Resilience at time of conflict
Then there’s defence. The current Middle East crisis is just the latest conflict to play out in the region. Defence spending is therefore an ongoing necessity, and here, space tech is key. Indeed, the 2019 creation of the U.S. Space Force, a distinct arm of the military, was a clear indication that space was now a national security imperative.
Laser communication, for example, which is far harder to jam, spoof, intercept and interfere with than radio, is now an important battlefield technology, promising greater resilience and security than its more commonly used counterpart. Advanced situational awareness, too, is essential for any modern military to understand where, in the context of a conflict, the pieces stand on the chessboard.
A smart move
Much of the Middle East needs to diversify fast. That much is clear. Facing an existential threat to oil, the lifeblood of economies like Saudi Arabia and the UAE, boosting industries and creating jobs resilient both to the march of AI and the transition to a cleaner, greener world is the order of the day.
No wonder, then, that the region is looking to space. Indeed, a recent deal by Bayanat, which provides AI-powered geospatial solutions, Yahsat, the UAE’s flagship satellite solutions provider, and ICEYE, a leading company in Earth observation via synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites, was a real declaration of where the the Middle East aims to go.
This latest move by Mubadala, Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, is a wise one. Abu Dhabi sees the enormous value – and enormous potential value – of the space sector. It understands the logic behind the idea that in the near future, every company will be a space company. And by investing in space, it can support its energy transition and greater agricultural sustainability and remain resilient at a time of global geopolitical and technological volatility.
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