Assistant Director General of Space Operations and Exploration Sector
Organization
Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC)
Adnan AlRais is the Assistant Director General of Space Operations and Exploration Sector, Mars 2117 Programme Manager and Project Manager of Emirates Lunar Mission at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC). Adnan has led the team responsible for all downstream activities of MBRSC's space missions, including Ground Networks Operations and Maintenance, Satellite Operations, Satellite Data Processing Applications and value-added products development. He has also interfaced with end users locally and internationally, as well as commercialised MBRSC products and services.
In his additional role as Programme Manager of Mars 2117, Adnan was tasked with setting up the strategy and leading initiatives to build a settlement on Mars and send humans to Mars by 2117. The projects under Mars 2117 includes the Emirates Lunar Mission, the first Emirati and Arab mission to explore the Moon, and Space Ventures, a launchpad that provides support to promising startups in the space sector.
Adnan's passion for space exploration and commitment to excellence has led to the triumphant outcomes of both SpaceOps 2023 and the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) 2021, both held in the Arab world for the first time ever, in which he led as the local organising committee chair and the lead organising committee co-chair, respectively. Furthermore, his dedication to advancing the UAE space sector demonstrates his unwavering support for the nation's growth in this cutting-edge field.
An accomplished researcher and author, Adnan has published and presented various papers in the areas of remote sensing and satellite image applications. He holds a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from Khalifa University in Sharjah, UAE.
