Khalifa University of Science and Technology announced today that the International Astronomical Union has named one of the asteroids “Al-Maarri 357148” instead of “CZ 2002” in recognition of the contributions of Dr. Muhammad Rami Al-Maarri, a member of the academic staff and associate professor in the Department of Planetary Science and Earth Sciences and director of the Science Center. Space and planets at the university.
Dr. Arif Sultan Al Hammadi, Executive Vice President at Khalifa University, said: “The International Astronomical Union’s naming of an asteroid after a member of the academic staff at Khalifa University embodies the importance of the country’s contributions to the space sector. We congratulate Dr. Mohammed Al-Maarri on this honor, which reflects the level of development in the research he is conducting.” It houses academic staff at the Center for Space and Planetary Science, where it focuses on global topics in the field of scientific exploration.”
He added that these honors play an effective role in highlighting the efforts made by scientists and researchers in the space and astronomy sector in the country, and also contribute to motivating future generations of innovators in the fields of science and technology.”
Dr. Muhammad Al-Maari’s contributions and research efforts include several topics, including planetary surfaces and the physical processes that affect them through the use of a multidisciplinary methodology based on the analysis of remotely sensed data, modeling, laboratory work, and comparative planetary science represented by field work. Dr. Muhammad has been involved in a large number of space missions. Domestic and international over the past 16 years, including Europe’s Rosetta mission to Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko/67P, NASA’s New Horizons mission tasked with discovering celestial bodies in the Kuiper Belt at the edge of the solar system, and the Emirates mission to explore the Moon.
Dr. Muhammad is considered one of the science team assigned to a large number of active missions in the future, including the mission of photographers participating in the high-quality imaging science experiment and the color and sound surface imaging system on board NASA’s Reconnaissance Orbiter and the European Space Agency’s Gas Tracking Orbiter, respectively.
Dr. Muhammad Al-Maari expressed his pride in this honor, which embodies the contributions and efforts made in planetary sciences, and also contributes to encouraging future generations of Arab researchers. He said, “The Department of Planetary Sciences at Khalifa University is the only department that provides a bachelor’s degree in the field of Earth and planetary sciences in “The region, so we seek to prepare the next generation to participate in the country’s upcoming missions in the field of space.”
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