
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency selects UAEU engineering student project for trials aboard International Space Station
16 June 2025 19:06
AL AIN (ALETIHAD)The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has selected a student team from the Mechanical Engineering Department at United Arab Emirates University (UAEU), based on a nomination by Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre, to participate in the prestigious Asian Try Zero-G 2025 (ATZ-G 2025) programme. The experiment will be conducted aboard the International Space Station (ISS) in the second half of 2025.
Dr. Waleed Ahmed, Associate Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department and team supervisor, emphasised that the team's selection by this esteemed international space agency came as a result of their sustained efforts and dedication over two academic semesters.
The team comprising Hamdan Almeqbaali, Akio Alnajjar, Ahoud Alkaabi, Hessa Alghaithi, Mariam Alnuaimi, and Wedemah Alnuaimi, conducted extensive theoretical investigation, supported by experimental testing and engineering simulations software, and proposed an experiment under the theme 'Investigating Harmonic Motion and Damping Effects in Microgravity'.The project stood out among submissions from over 500 international universities, and was recognised for presenting new scientific data and insights not previously explored.The selection of UAEU's project underscores the university's strong position in the field of scientific research, particularly space science, and reflects its advanced research infrastructure. It also enhances UAEU's global reputation as a hub for innovation and discovery.
This participation represents a proud milestone in UAEU's growing contributions to space exploration, and demonstrates the university's commitment to producing ground-breaking research that serves society and advances scientific understanding.
Source: Aletihad - Abu Dhabi
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Dubai Eye
3 hours ago
- Dubai Eye
Astronauts from India, Poland, Hungary launched on first space station mission
Astronauts from India, Poland and Hungary have embarked on a two-week science research mission early Wednesday, marking a return to human spaceflight after more than 40 years and the first mission to the International Space Station. They were joined by NASA retiree turned private astronaut Peggy Whitson, who is on her fifth spaceflight of her career. The astronaut team lifted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral, Florida, at about 2:30 am EDT (0630 GMT), beginning the latest mission organised by Texas-based startup Axiom Space in partnership with Elon Musk's rocket venture SpaceX. The four-member crew was carried aloft on a towering SpaceX launch vehicle consisting of a Crew Dragon capsule perched atop a two-stage Falcon 9 rocket. Live video showed the towering spacecraft streaking into the night sky over Florida's Atlantic coast trailed by a brilliant yellowish plume of fiery exhaust. It marked the first Crew Dragon flight since Musk briefly threatened to decommission the spacecraft after US President Donald Trump threatened to cancel Musk's government contracts in a high-profile political feud between the two men earlier this month. Axiom 4's autonomously operated Crew Dragon was expected to reach the ISS after a flight of about 28 hours, then dock with the outpost as the two vehicles soar together in orbit some 400 km above Earth. If all goes according to plan, the Axiom 4 crew will be welcomed aboard the orbiting space laboratory Thursday morning by its seven current resident occupants - three astronauts from the US, one from Japan and three cosmonauts from Russia. Whitson, 65, and her three Axiom 4 crewmates - Shubhanshu Shukla, 39, of India, Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, 41, of Poland, and Tibor Kapu, 33, of Hungary - are slated to spend 14 days aboard the space station conducting microgravity research. The mission stands as the fourth such flight since 2022 arranged by Axiom as the Houston-headquartered company builds on its business of putting astronauts sponsored by private companies and foreign governments into Earth orbit. The Axiom 4 participation of Shukla, an Indian air force pilot, is seen by India's own space programme as a kind of precursor to the debut crewed mission of its Gaganyaan orbital spacecraft, planned for 2027. The Axiom 4 crew is led by Whitson, who retired from NASA in 2018 after a pioneering career that included her tenure as the first woman to serve as the US space agency's chief astronaut. She also was the first woman to command an ISS expedition and the first to do so twice. Now a consultant and director of human spaceflight for Axiom, she has logged a career total of 675 days in space, a US record, during three NASA missions and a fourth flight to space as commander of the Axiom 2 mission in 2023. The Axiom 4 mission was previously scheduled for liftoff on Tuesday before a forecast of unsuitable weather forced a 24-hour postponement.


Broadcast Pro
2 days ago
- Broadcast Pro
UAEU team to represent UAE in Asian Try Zero-G 2025 competition
The competition offers university students from across the Asia-Pacific region to propose physics experiments to be conducted aboard the International Space Station. The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) has announced that a student team from the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) will represent the UAE in the final phase of the Asian Try Zero-G 2025 competition. Organised in collaboration with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and other regional partners, the competition invites university students from across the Asia-Pacific to design physics experiments to be conducted aboard the International Space Station (ISS), according to a report by WAM. This years edition saw participation from 74 students across eight UAE universities, who submitted a total of 17 experiment proposals to MBRSC. After a rigorous internal selection process, three teams were nominated to move forward, with UAEUs submission advancing to the international finals. Their experiment, created by a group of six students, explores harmonic motion and damping effects in microgravityan area of study that could yield new insights into the behaviour of physical systems in the absence of Earth's gravitational pull. Out of numerous entries from the region, only 11 teams from nine countries have qualified for the final round of the competition. The chosen experiments will be carried out inside the Japanese Experiment Module Kibo on the ISS by a Japanese astronaut, with execution scheduled between late 2025 and early 2026. MBRSCs involvement in the Asian Try Zero-G initiative reflects its ongoing commitment to fostering scientific curiosity, promoting STEM education, and encouraging collaboration with academic institutions throughout the UAE. By supporting student engagement in real-world space research, the Centre aims to nurture the next generation of scientists and innovators poised to shape the future of space exploration.


The National
2 days ago
- The National
Leading UAE food producer aims to cut energy and water use under high-tech partnership
A leading UAE food producer is embracing innovation in agriculture after joining forces with an enterprising Finnish technology company in an effort to slash energy and water consumption in its operations and create more nutritious meals. Al Ain Farms Group (AAFG) - which was founded in 1981 and offers everything from dairy and poultry to juices and eggs - is working with Food1Q to introduce an eco-friendly system which allows for large-scale food production in an area only the size of a large office and eliminates the need for preservatives. The deal is centred around FoodIQ's patented multilayer cooker (MLC), a food processing system that reduces energy and water use and supports the production of additive-free dairy and plant-based products. The agreement marks the first time the system has been put to use outside Finland. Responding to a hotter, hungrier future A recent paper published in Nature science journal highlighted that agriculture yields globally are expected to fall sharply by mid-century because of rising temperatures and water scarcity. In this context, Hassan Safi, group chief executive, Al Ain Farms Group, said the UAE's ability to produce food locally, using less water, energy, and land, is critical. He described the deal as a response to both national food security priorities, and the country's climate targets, including Net Zero 2050. The MLC, developed over 10 years by FoodIQ in Finland, allows for flexible production of foods such as yoghurt, smoothies, milks and cheeses – without the typical infrastructure of industrial plants. Mr Safi said that the system would allow the dairy maker to 'produce high-quality products with no additives, no preservatives,' adding that he expects a 20 to 30 per cent increase in operational speed over conventional methods. Commenting independently on the partnership, Aseel Takshe, acting dean, School of Health Sciences and Psychology at Canadian University Dubai, said that the deal directly supports the UAE's strategic priorities in food security and climate action. 'The UAE's National System for Sustainable Agriculture aims to boost local food production, reduce dependency on imports, and enhance resilience to climate change by leveraging modern agricultural technologies.' According to Dr Takshe, modern systems like the MLC are critical to making agriculture in arid environments viable. 'Such innovations are essential for building food systems that can withstand climate-induced shocks, ensuring food security in a warming world,' she told The National. A factory that can fit in an office room Unlike traditional dairy plants that rely on sprawling infrastructure and kilometres of pipework, the MLC compresses multiple production stages – mixing, pasteurising, homogenising, and cooling – into a single modular unit that can fit inside a large office room. 'Think about it, just washing the 20 kilometres of piping in a typical dairy plant requires vast amounts of water,' Robert Savikko, chief executive of FoodIQ told The National when asked about the water and energy savings 'With our system, you're looking at maybe 10 metres. It's simpler and faster, and far more resource-efficient,' he said. The gentler process also preserves more nutritional content, allowing foods to achieve longer shelf lives without chemical preservatives. 'In conventional production, you often get yoghurt with banana flavour – but no banana,' Mr Savikko said. 'We can make it with real banana, or oats, or dates. That's what clean label means.' FoodIQ and Al Ain Farms expect the first wave of new products – still under wraps – to be on UAE shelves by the end of 2025. The MLC will be installed in a facility in Al Ain and integrated into the company's ecosystem. A model for climate resilience For the UAE, the shift towards low-footprint, modular production represents more than technological advancement, it's a strategy for resilience. During the coronavirus pandemic, the vulnerability of international supply chains was clear. Mr Safi said technologies like MLC would help AAFG future-proof its operations by enabling the use of local ingredients, reducing dependence on imports, and shrinking environmental impact. 'Smaller set-ups mean less energy consumption, less water consumption,' he said. 'That contributes directly to our sustainability objectives.' While Mr Safi declined to give precise figures on expected resource savings, he said the company is already working towards eight of the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals – through water recycling, animal welfare initiatives, and transitioning to recyclable material for plastic packaging. Local tech for global systems FoodIQ, which operates an MLC-based plant in Finland, sees the UAE as an important testbed for global expansion. The company is in negotiations to launch similar partnerships in the US, Asia, and across Europe. The MLC is also being designed to integrate AI and machine learning capabilities to adapt recipes to local conditions – such as variations in water quality or air temperature. 'We saw with Covid, food security became a huge issue. This addresses food security head on, because you can produce locally with local ingredients,' Mr Savikko said. With installation under way and first products expected within months, both partners describe the initiative as a milestone in redefining what sustainable food manufacturing can look like in a resource-scarce world. As the UAE races to future-proof its food systems, the success of this partnership could serve as proof that the future of food may not lie in size, but in smartness.