Salem Humaid Al Marri

Salem Humaid AlMarri is the Director General of the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre. He was involved in overseeing the partnership with NASA to build the Emirates Airlock on the Gateway Lunar Space Station.

Background

Prior to becoming the Director General, AlMarri held several roles, including Project Manager for DubaiSat-1 and DubaiSat-2, Head of the UAE Astronaut Programme, and Deputy Director General at MBRSC. He is a member of the International Academy of Astronautics.
AlMarri's assisted in winning the rights to host the International Astronautical Congress 2021 and SpaceOps 2023 in Dubai. He led the organising committee for the IAC in 2021, marking the first time the event was held in an Arab nation.
AlMarri has represented the UAE at international conferences and the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPOUS). He has received the Exceptional Public Service Medal from NASA and the UAE Pioneers Award. He holds a bachelor’s degree in computer network engineering from the Higher Colleges of Technology Dubai.

Projects and Programmes

AlMarri was responsible for developing the strategy of the UAE Astronaut Programme and the selection process for its astronauts. While he served as Director General, MBRSC developed multiple satellites and carried out the Emirates Mars Mission and Emirates Lunar Mission.
He was involved in establishing the Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology (EIAST) in 2006, which merged with MBRSC in 2015. AlMarri also initiated the Knowledge Transfer Programme with the Satrec Initiative of South Korea.