A digital twin of Dubai, built with a space agency

The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with SpaceData, a Tokyo-based startup, to develop advanced digital-twin technology spanning both space missions and the city of Dubai.

Three digital twins

• A high-fidelity Dubai urban twin to drive tourism and economic development through immersive digital experiences of the city.
• A disaster-prediction twin that fuses satellite and meteorological data to model large-scale events and improve safety.
• A lunar twin using MBRSC rover data to train UAE astronauts and support the Emirates Lunar Mission.

A digital twin is a living, data-fed 3D replica — of a city, a system or a surface — used to simulate, plan and respond. For a fast-growing city, it is a planning tool; for a space programme, a training ground.