SAASST News (414)
SAASST Participation at 72nd International Astronautical Congress
The Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences, and Technology (SAASST) participated in the 72nd International Astronautical Congress held in Dubai, Oct. 25-29, 2021. SAASST researchers presented 12 research papers covering all of the research laboratories. There were two papers from the CubeSat Laboratory, three from the Radio Astronomy Laboratory, two from the Meteorite Center, one from the Space Weather and Ionospheric Laboratory, and two from the High Energy Astrophysics Laboratory, and two papers related to SAASST STEM educational program. The papers titles are as follows:
A delegation from EPFL Visits the University of Sharjah and SAASST
The Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences, and Technology (SAASST) has received the visit of Prof. Jean-Paul Kneib from the EPFL SB IPHYS LASTRO and Dr. Fadi Bayoud, the Deputy Director for EPFL Middle East, based in Ras Al-Khaimah. EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne) is one of the most prestigious schools in Europe in the fields of engineering, technology, and computer science, according to the Shanghai Academic Ranking of World Universities. In 2011, it was in second place among European universities, behind Cambridge University (UK).
SAASST Expo2020 Participation
The Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences, and Technology is actively participating in the Expo2020 events. Up to date, SAASST team participated in several panels and TV interviews to discuss SAASST programs in light of its public outreach initiatives, its academics, and its research laboratories.
Space Innovation and Global Collaboration: When We Solve for Space, We Solve For Earth
The Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences, and Technology organized a special workshop with Ms. Shelli Brunswick, the chief operating officer at Space Foundation. Prof. Ahmad Al-Shemma, the Dean of the College of Engineering, opened the workshop with an overview of the University of Sharjah and its different research units. He also emphasized the University of Sharjah's accomplishments in terms of its No. 1 SCOPUS publications among all of the UAE educational institutions.
SAASST Space Vison for Next Decade
As part of its Wednesday series of general lectures, the Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences, and Technology organized a lecture on “SAASST Space Vision for the Next Decade.” The lecture was given by Prof. Ilias Fernini, the SAASST Deputy General Director for Research.
Three Astronauts Visit SAASST as part of the "Astronauts" Season 2
Russian Cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko and NASA Astronauts Scott Kelly and Nicole Stout took a souvenir picture with Prof. Hamid Al-Naimiy, the Chancellor of the University of Sharjah and SAASST General Director, underneath the ISS at the Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences, and Technology on Oct. 04, 2021.
THE SOLAR FLARES AND RADIO BLACKOUTS
Solar flares are large eruptions of electromagnetic radiation from the Sun lasting from minutes to hours. The sudden outburst of electromagnetic energy travels at the speed of light. Therefore, any effect upon the sunlit side of Earth’s exposed outer atmosphere will occur a couple of minutes later.
World Space Week – Women in Space
In celebration of the “World Space Week 2021 – Women in Space”, the Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences, and Technology organized a special lecture conducted by the academy women space scientists, Aisha Al-Owais, Maryam Essa Sharif, Noora Al-Ameri, Maryam Al-Qasimi, and Salma Subhi. The research assistants took turn to present their present research and their motivation to be a space scientist.
Workshop “Sustainable Use of Space” by Prof. Minna Palmorth
The Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences, and Technology organized a special workshop related to the sustainable use of space. Prof. Minna Palmorth from the University of Helsinki and the Director of Finnish Centre of Excellence in Research of Sustainable Space gave the lecture. The presentation emphasized d that space is universal and that its sustainability is the responsibility of all space operators. Space sustainability ensures that all humanity can continue to use outer space for peaceful purposes and socio-economic benefits now and in the long term. This will require international cooperation, discussion, and agreements to ensure that outer space is safe, secure, and peaceful.
Single Event Upset (SEU) By Mohammad Musharraf
The Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences, and Technology organized a lecture on cosmic rays under the title "Single Event Upset (SEU). The online lecture was given by Mr. Mohammad Musharraf, a physics student at the University of Sharjah. What is a single event upset? As defined in Wikipedia, a single-event upset (SEU) is a change of state caused by one single ionizing particle (ions, electrons, photons...) striking a sensitive node in a microelectronic device, such as in a microprocessor, semiconductor memory, or power transistors.
World Ozone Day Lecture Mr. Mohamed Rihan / SAASST Research Assistant
The Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences, and Technology started its series of general lectures for the academic year 2021-2022 with a lecture on the ozone layer to celebrate the "World Ozone Day" of Sep. 16, 2021. Mr. Mohamed Rihan, a research assistant at the academy, presented the online lecture.
Fast Facts about the Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences, and Technology (SAASST)
Sharjah Academy of Astronomy, Space sciences & Technology was inaugurated on Wednesday of May 2015 under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council, Ruler of Sharjah, and President of the University of Sharjah, to crown the celebrations of Sharjah as the Capital of Islamic Culture. The Center aims at developing and promoting education about astronomy and space sciences in the Arab World in general and the UAE in particular in order to be a destination for science, research, heritage, and education.
Informative Space Weather Workshop
The Sharjah Center for Astronomy, Space Sciences, and Technology (SAASST) hosted on Aug. 19 an informative “Space Weather Workshop” to discuss the effects of the Sun on Earth. Dr. Mubasshir Shaikh, a post-doc at the SAASST “Space Weather and Ionospheric Laboratory,” introduced the topic of space weather to the audience and discussed the different aspects of our star, the Sun, and its negative effects on space and Earth communications. The workshop was an occasion for Ms. Alia, an MSc student from Khalifa University, to survey the attendees about the mitigations of space weather. Ms. Alia is preparing her thesis on the topics of space weather. The workshop reviewed and assessed the current knowledge on space weather and its technological and societal consequences.
UAEMMN Perseids Meteor Shower 2021 Peak Observations
It seems that for this year, the Perseids meteor shower has given us an excellent show worldwide. The shower produced a great number of meteors on the mornings of August 11, 12, and 13, when the most meteors have happened. The Moon was nowhere to ruin the show.
3rd SAASST Summer Students Internship Graduation
On Aug. 11, 2021, the last summer internship student presented a seminar summarizing his experience at the Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences, and Technology during his 8-week internship. Mr. Abdulrahman Ismail Philip Bullock from the University of Sharjah. The student joined the “High Energy Astrophysics Laboratory” and was under the direct supervision of Dr. Antonios Manousakis along with two research assistants, Ms. Noora Al-Ameri and Ms. Maryam Al-Qasemi.
2nd SAASST Summer Students Internship Graduation
The Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences, and Technology organized a 2nd special seminar for eight students finishing their six-week summer internships. Four of these students have joined the “Meteorite Center,” three the “CubeSat Laboratory,” and one student the High Energy Astrophysics Laboratory. Even though they came from an engineering background, the students showed a great understanding of their research work with excellent space sciences presentations. The experience they gained in doing space sciences research will be long felt in their future work.
Farewell Ceremony to Ms. Asmaa Abdulsalam Alhameed SAASST Research Assistant
The Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences, and Technology has organized an informal farewell ceremony on Jul. 29, 2021, to Ms. Asmaa Abdulsalam Alhameed, a SAASST research assistant at the Radio Astronomy Laboratory. Ms. Asmaa is leaving us for a teaching position in one of the UAE schools. She joined SAASST in 2017.
SAASST Summer Students Internship Graduation
The Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences, and Technology has organized a special seminar presentation for 11 students finishing their six-week summer internships. Some of these students have joined the “Radio Astronomy Laboratory,” some the “Space Weather and Ionospheric Laboratory,” and one student the CubeSat Laboratory. The students showed a great understanding of their research work with excellent space sciences presentations, even though all of them came from an engineering background. The experience they gained in doing space sciences research will be long felt in their future work.
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Ms. Raiyah Al-Serkal from AUS, First Student to Finish Her Summer Internship 2021 at SAASST
Ms. Raiyah Al-Serkal, a physics student from the American University of Sharjah, just finished her 2021 summer internship at the Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences, and Technology (SAASST). Ms. Raiyah started her internship on June 06 and gave her final presentation about her work on July 11. She worked at the High Energy Astrophysics Laboratory and was under the supervision of Dr. Antonios Manousakis, Ms. Noora Al-Ameri, and Ms. Maryam Al-Qasemi. Her main work was to do some computational and data analysis on X-ray binaries. Ms. Raiyah said she got tremendous experience working with real astronomical data obtained from the XMM X-ray space telescope.
The UAE Joins the ATLAS Collaboration at CERN in Switzerland
The United Arab Emirates has joined the European Organization for Nuclear and Particle Physics Research (CERN) in Geneva (Switzerland) as a Cluster Institution (University of Sharjah, New York University Abu Dhabi, and the United Arab Emirates University). A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the cooperation among the three universities has been signed with CERN.
Great Online Attendance for the Asteroid Day Celebration
The Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences, and Technology (SAASST) celebrated on Wednesday, June 30, 2021, the International Asteroid Day. The main objectives of the asteroid day are to raise public awareness about the asteroid impact hazard, save the Earth from asteroids, and increase the asteroid discovery rate to 100,000 per year compared to a couple of hundreds per year. These goals can be achieved by using new technologies to detect and track Near-Earth-Asteroids (NEA) that threaten human populations. SAASST is within these objectives with its “Meteorite Center” and its different units, i.e., the “Analysis Unit,” “Machine Learning,” “Drone Unit,” and the “UAEMMN Unit.” In addition, seven various lectures on different topics related to asteroids were given by SAASST staff.
Asteroid Day June 30, 2021 Celebration
The Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences, and Technology (SAASST) will celebrate the International Asteroid Day on June 30, 2021. The main objectives of the asteroid day are to raise public awareness about the asteroid impact hazard, save the Earth from asteroids, and increase the asteroid discovery rate to 100,000 per year compared to a couple of hundreds per year. These goals can be achieved by using new technologies to detect and track
A Special STK Workshop for SAASST Summer Internship Students
The Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences, and Technology (SAASST) has organized a special STK workshop for the summer internship students on Jun. 14, 2021. Mrs. Tarifa Al-Kaabi, our research assistant at the CubeSat Laboratory, organized the workshop. Mr. Diogo Rodriguez, the AGI MENA Director, gave the workshop onsite. Due to the pandemic situation, some students participated online. Systems Tool Kit, often referred to by its initials STK, is a multi-physics software application from Analytical Graphics, Inc. that enables engineers and scientists to perform complex
SAASST Approves 21 Students for their Summer Internship - Training Program for 2021
As part of its program to educate university students and introduce them to space sciences research, the Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences, and Technology (SAASST) has approved the application of 21 students to take part in the different SAASST research laboratories. These students will have the chance to have their summer internship program at SAASST starting from June 06, 2021. The period may go up to 8 weeks ending in July 2021. Students come from the University of Sharjah, Khalifa University, the American University of Sharjah, and the Higher College of technology.