Adnan Al Rais EMM Deputy Project Manager Ground Station

Adnan and his team are responsible for the development, design and implementation of the ground segment of the ​​Emirates Mars Mission and also other future deep space missions undertaken by Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre. In addition, Adnan is responsible for the commercialisation of MBRSC projects, specifically on the commercialization of DubaiSat-1 and DubaiSat-2 imaging products and services. Adnan was part of the team that built the UAEs first ground station at the Emirates Institution for Advanced Science & Technology (EIAST) in 2007 and also worked with the team building the ground segment of the DubaiSat satellite series, introducing commercial ground support services and antenna hosting services at EIAST’s Ground Station in Dubai.

Adnan has published and presented a number of papers in the areas of remote sensing and satellite image applications. He holds a Bachelor’s in Computer Engineering from Khalifa University, Sharjah.

Ibrahim Hamza EMM Deputy Project Manager Strategic Planning

Ibrahim leads the Strategic Planning for Emirates Mars Mission in addition to being the project manager of the UAE's first cubesat mission, Nayif-1. He has focused his career on capacity building through education and the promotion of STEM throughout the UAE.

Ibrahim started his career at EIAST, joining the Space Program Department as the first non-engineer. He worked as a representative of international affairs and was in charge of managing EIAST’s international agreements and collaborations. Ibrahim then moved to the Project Management Office where he was assigned as project manager of the high school satellite initiative, CanSat.

In 2014, Ibrahim was assigned as the Head of Strategic Research at EIAST.

Ibrahim graduated from the United Arab Emirates University with a Bachelors in Finance in 2010.

Khulood Al Harmoodi EMM Deputy Project Manager Product Assurance and Logistics

Khuloud heads the project management team at Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, overseeing and delivering on all aspects of project monitoring, knowledge management and product assurance.

Prior to this, Khuloud was a product assurance engineer and assistant research at the research and development (R&D) section of the Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology (EIAST), where she established initial standards in the field of Product Assurance and Project Management.

Khuloud holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering from the American University of Sharjah.

Nour Al Teneiji EMM Liaison Officer

Part of the project management team at MBRSC, Nour was responsible for setting up the project management office at the Emirates Institution for Advanced Science & Technology (EIAST). With responsibility for the ongoing management briefing and project support of the KhalifaSat, High Altitude Pseudo Satellite (HAPS) & Nayif-1 projects at MBRSC, Nour is also managing all contractual and financial aspects of the Emirates Mars Mission.

Nour holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management from the UAE Higher Colleges of Technology.

Omran Sharaf EMM Project Manager

Omran leads the ​Emirates Mars Mission. He and his team are responsible for directing, managing, and supporting the different ongoing programs within MBRSC and identifying new science-led strategic opportunities for the United Arab Emirates.

An experienced engineer who trained in the US and Korea, Omran was responsible for developing and implementing the Command & Data Handling Subsystem (C&DH) for the DubaiSat-1 high resolution LEO imaging satellite. He was responsible for both the system engineering and C&DH for the DubaiSat-2 project, which added complementary high resolution panchromatic and multi-spectral imaging capabilities. From 2011 to 2014, Omran was director of space image processing and analysis, developing solutions for satellite image utilization in various applications, analyzing images to support decision makers and developing image enhancement techniques to achieve better image quality.

He is a member of the UAE’s delegation to and former chair of the International Committee on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (ICG). He has also formed part of the UAE’s delegation to the United Nations Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPOUS) since 2010.

Omran earned his bachelor degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Virginia, USA, in 2005, and his Master's in Science and Technology Policy from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), South Korea, in 2013.

Sarah Amiri EMM Deputy Project Manager Science Lead

As the Lead Science Investigator on the ​Emirates Mars Mission, Sarah leads the team developing the Mission’s scientific objectives, goals, instrumentation and analysis programmes. She is currently expanding the team through collaboration with national universities and international institutions.

As head of the Advanced Aerial Systems Program at MBRSC, she is also leading the design and development of the UAE’s first unmanned aerial system (UAS).

Formerly the head of R&D at the Emirates Institution for Advanced Science & Technology (EIAST), where she established the Institution’s knowledge management, strategic research and product assurance functionalities, Sarah joined EIAST in 2009 as a software developer.

Sarah holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering from the American University of Sharjah.