The United Arab Emirates hired Nebraska space law professor Frans G. von der Dunk as a senior adviser for that nation’s nascent space agency.
The UAE has ambitious plans for moving into space, including unmanned missions to Mars and a possible space port for commercial manned spaceflight, said von der Dunk, Harvey and Susan Perlman Alumni/Othmer Professor of Space Law with the Space, Cyber and Telecommunications Law Program at the University of Nebraska College of Law.
“They are very ambitious to become a major spacefaring nation,” von der Dunk said via email from Abu Dhabi.
Created by legislative decree last year, the UAE Space Agency is located in Abu Dhabi, the leading emirate of seven compromising the UAE and the one with the greatest oil reserves.
The agency’s mission is to organize and guide the space sector; to develop space research, programs and strategic partnerships; and to prepare generations of highly skilled professionals to work in the space industry.
Von der Dunk, who has his own consultancy firm, was hired through a headhunting agency to work with global management consulting firm A.T. Kearney in assisting the new agency as it develops space policies, strategies, laws and regulation.
The new position will require von der Dunk to visit the UAE a few times a year. He will not relinquish his UNL position or his commitments with his consultancy firm. Although the initial contract concludes at the end of 2015, von der Dunk said it is likely that his involvement will continue for multiple years.
The country previously has invested about $5.5 billion into space ventures, including three major space operators that operate satellites for commercial and military use. It plans to send an unmanned space probe, called “Hope,” to Mars in the next six years. It is setting up the Middle East’s first space research center, costing $27 million over five years and the region’s first space degree for master’s students.
The mission to Mars would be the first by an Arab Islamic country.
“Our vision is to proudly craft the future of the United Arab Emirates as a leader in space exploration and inspire the next generations for the benefit of the nation and mankind,” according to a background document from the UAE Space Agency.
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Professor von der Dunk presented "Transfer of ownership in-orbit: from fiction to problem" the the 4th Luxembourg Workshop on Space and Satellite Communication Law at the University of Luxembourg.
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In June, von der Dunk presented "Space Law and Space Debris: Moving into the Right Direction" at the Munich Aerospace Summer School held in Herrsching, Germany.
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Professor von der Dunk was quoted in Popular Science in regard to colonization of Mars. Full story: http://www.popsci.com/astrobiologist-wants-liberate-future-mars-colonies
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Professor von der Dunk gave a presentation via video conference to an audience at the Mueller Planetarium in Morrill Hall in celebration of the first Asteroid Day. The Lincoln Journalstar provided coverage of the event: http://journalstar.com/lifestyles/misc/happy-asteroid-day/article_46a59b4c-1d62-5b58-a337-0be62b4b1d02.html