A Mission to Mars: A Conversation with Her Excellency Sarah Al Amiri, UAE Minister of State for Advanced Technology

This event has already taken place.

Please join the Center for Strategic and International Studies for a Smart Women, Smart Power conversation with Her Excellency Sarah bint Yousef Al Amiri, the UAE Minister of State for Advanced Technology and Chairwoman of the UAE Space Agency. She will discuss her historic work leading the Hope spacecraft mission to orbit Mars, which took place during the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as international space cooperation, and her role as a leader for women working in science. This program is being held in conjunction with the CSIS Aerospace Security Project and the CSIS Middle East Program.

Minister Al Amiri spearheads the UAE Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology’s efforts to empower the adoption of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies and promote research and development in the advanced science and technology sector, create new industries that drive the shift toward a knowledge economy, strengthen the UAE’s industrial base, and raise the competitiveness of local industries. As Chairwoman of the UAE Space Agency, she oversees the agency’s mandate of guiding the space sector, ensuring its contribution to the national economy and to the UAE’s sustainable development.

Minister Al Amiri is Chairwoman of the Emirates Scientists Council, Chairwoman of the Fourth Industrial Revolution Council, and Chairwoman of the Dubai Future Academy Board of Trustees. She served as the Deputy Project Manager and Science Lead of the Emirates Mars Mission (Hope) at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) before being appointed Chairwoman of the UAE Space Agency. Previously, she headed R&D at MBRSC, where she established the Centre’s knowledge management, strategic research, and product assurance functionalities. She was also involved in DubaiSat-1 and DubaiSat-2, and in the establishment of the KhalifaSat program. In 2014, she led the establishment of the Advanced Aerial Systems Program, where she championed development efforts on a prototype High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite.

In 2015, the World Economic Forum honored Minister Al Amiri as one of its 50 Young Scientists for her contributions to science, technology, and engineering. She holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Computer Engineering from the American University of Sharjah.

This event is made possible through support from Citi.