Gulf Futurism: Dubai Aims For Space

Dubai can’t rely on its oil wealth forever. So, writes Rahel Aima, its “economy must be radically diversified if the country is to survive into the next century.” On the occasion of the World Expo 2020, which Dubai will host, the country will send a probe to Mars—the first major space mission of any Arab country.

Aima explains how Dubai’s emerging nationalism is embodied by this upcoming foray into outer space, and how this project is itself “framed as a revival” of previous Arab nationalist endeavors, particularly that of the 1950s-60s. The rhetoric surrounding the space project also references the much deeper history of the “Golden Age of Islam” between the eight and thirteenth centuries. Picking up on these points of historical pride is the goal. 

The space probe, named “Amal” for “hope,” highlights the current political situation on the ground in the Emirate. Although Dubai markets itself as being on “the extreme promontory of the future,” at the moment the “population [is] discouraged from pursuing enfranchisement and liberation in the present." Maybe the high hopes of space travel are misplaced when development on this planet is so urgently needed.