####UAE Ambassador Killed In Terrorist Attack On Feb. 15, Juma Al Kaabi, UAE ambassador to Afghanistan, died from injuries sustained in a Kandahar terrorist attack on Jan. 11. Al Kaabi passed away in a specialist hospital in France where he was treated after the incident.

Al Kaabi’s funeral took place on Feb. 16 in Al Quor in Ras Al Khaimah. Abdul Fareed Zakaria, Afghanistan’s ambassador to the UAE, along with the staff of the Afghani embassy and members of the Afghan community visited the funeral to express their condolences. Al Kaabi was also honored on Twitter by H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The terrorist attack killed 11 people in total, including five UAE nationals who were aid workers in the country. ####Al Thuraya Astronomy Centre to Open In April The building work on Al Thuraya Astronomy Centre in Dubai is now completed, with only the installation of technology and facilities left before the opening. Hasan Al Hariri, chief executive of Dubai Astronomy Group, said that he hopes the centre will open in April 2017.

Al Thuraya Astronomy Centre is a 45 million AED project aimed at promoting astronomy in the UAE. The Centre will be open to the public with an entry fee of 10 AED. The complex is built to resemble a UFO and includes a café, library, theatre, labs with 3D printers, lecture rooms and an outdoor observation deck.

The Centre is situated in Mushrif Park and will eventually be surrounded by game centers as well as a replica of the International Space Station.

####UAE to Build Mini City on Mars H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice-president and prime minister of the UAE, and H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, ruler of Abu Dhabi, announced the Mars 2117 Project on Feb. 14. The project aims to build an inhabitable mini city on Mars by 2117.

The project was announced at the World Government Summit in Dubai, which was attended by more than 130 countries, with a visual presentation of the preliminary plans for the city.

The century-long plan also includes investments in building scientific institutions in the Emirates and transforming UAE universities into research institutions.

In 2021, as the first step of the plan, the UAE will be responsible for the first landing of an Arab spacecraft on Mars. At the World Government Summit, the UAE also explained that the city will be built by robots.