Sheikh Mohammed congratulates Genes in Space contest winner

Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, on Tuesday told Alia Al Mansoori, winner of the first national Genes in Space competition, to conShow more

ABU DHABI // The Emirati pupil who won the Genes in Space competition has been personally congratulated and encouraged to follow her dreams by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed.

Sheikh Mohammed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, shared a video on Instagram of his meeting with Alia Al Mansoori, 14, on Tuesday.

Alia’s winning idea, to study how exposure to space affects the health of live organisms at the cellular level, was chosen from an initial 110 entries and an eventual five finalist teams of eight pupils at the Global Space Congress in Abu Dhabi.

Alia will see her experiment launched into space from the Kennedy Space Centre between March and July. Once in orbit, it will be tested by astronauts on the International Space Station.

The Al Mawakeb School Grade 9 pupil, who dreams of planting the UAE flag on Mars, said winning the competition had given her a sense of pride for herself and her country.

She said that Sheikh Mohammed urged her to follow her dream and inspire others when they met on Tuesday.

“It felt like I was sitting down with someone I have known for a long time, who I could get advice from,” Alia said.

“He told me to continue being innovative and inspire others in this field.”

Alia also met Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, Minister of State for Tolerance, to discuss topics including the recent SpaceX launch and their mutual love for science-fiction books such as The Martian.

“The experience was very inspiring, and made me not want to stop at this project alone but to continue my experiments and research.”

Accompanying Alia on the visit to the Sea Palace was her father, Dr Ahmed Al Mansoori, who said he was grateful for the advice and encouragement Sheikh Mohammed had for his daughter.

“He spoke to her as a leader as well as a father, telling her that because of people like her the UAE would travel from planet to planet and beyond,” Dr Al Mansoori said.

“You always hope that your children will surpass your achievements and Alia has already achieved a lot.”

Her success in the contest has also inspired her fellow students and friends which are now approaching her for advice.

“People come up to me at break and say ‘I have this talent, and I want to show it – I want to be like you’,” Alia said.

When it was launched by the UAE Space Agency, Boeing and The National in November 2015, it challenged children from Grades 7 to 12 to come up with an experiment that applied DNA analysis to real-life challenges in space exploration.

Organisers received more than 100 submissions from 75 schools, involving about 300 pupils and teachers from across the country.