The program consisted of several lectures, as per the below distribution. A large number of students attended the workshop. It was an occasion to learn about space debris, natural ones like meteoroids, meteors, or meteorites, or artificial ones like falling rocket boosters or satellites. Prof. Ilias Fernini, the Director of the SAASST Space Sciences Department, explained to the audience the formation of the solar system and its different components. Mrs. Maryam Essa introduced the techniques for observing meteors and the UAE Meteor Monitoring Network (UAEMMN). Ms. Salma Subhi went into the different types of meteorites in terms of their chemical elements in a very elegant and entertaining manner. Mrs. Aisha Al-Owais explained using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to filter the UAEMMN data to eliminate any wrong detection, i.e., a bird or an airplane. Ms. Munya Al-Khalifa presented her project to use a drone to search for real meteorites by implementing AI/ML into the search.
The program was as follows:
Program outline:
- 10:00 - 10:10 Opening remarks - Prof. Ilias Fernini
- 10:10 - 10:30 SAASST Meteorite Center Journey – Salma Subhi
- 10:30 - 10:50 Space Debris - Prof. Ilias Fernini
- 10:50 - 11:10 Observing and Tracking Meteors – Maryam Sharif
- 11:10 - 11:40 Coffee Break
- 11:40 - 12:00 Meteor Detection using Machine Learning – Aisha Alowais
- 12:00 - 12:30 Features and Petrography of Meteorites – Salma Subhi
- 12:30 - 12:50 Meteorite Recognition using Machine Learning – Munia Alkhalifa
- 12:50 - 13:00 Closing remarks - Prof. Ilias Fernini
- 13:00 Lunch