Dubai Future Foundation was launched to play a crucial role in shaping the future of Dubai. With the primary purpose aimed at establishing space technology as a key economic sector in the UAE. The Space Settlement Challenge was launched at the 6th World Government Summit in February 2018. The projects received direct funding from the Dubai Future Foundation’s new think tank, The Mohammad Bin Rashid Centre for Accelerated Research (MBRCAR).
The 36 funded projects include topics like the Sustainable Space Settlement: Stability Analysis of Lava Tubes’ by the Purdue University, the ‘Mushrooms on Mars: A Subsystem for Human Life Support’ by Rutgers University, and the ‘Greywater based aeroponics’ by the Wroclaw University of Science and Technology.
These projects were drawn from 260 research proposals from over 200 universities in 55 countries around the globe. The selection process was powered through a crowdfunding platform called Guanna to ensure transparency. The Center also announced some new research initiatives, including work focused on the use of personal data by major technology companies, the development of regional technology sectors, the social consequences of autonomous vehicles, and more.