The United Arab Emirates hopes to become the fourth country to land a spacecraft on the moon and is planning to do so in just four years.
UAE Prime Minister and Vice President Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who is also the ruler of Dubai, announced the goal Tuesday over Twitter. He didn’t provide details about how his country would launch the rover or where on the moon it is expected to explore.
“We are launching the first-ever Arab mission to the moon by 2024. The lunar rover will send back images & data from new sites of the moon that haven’t been explored by previous lunar missions. The gathered data will be shared with global research centers & institutions,” Sheikh Mohammed said.
We are launching the first-ever Arab mission to the moon by 2024. The lunar rover will send back images & data from new sites of the moon that haven’t been explored by previous lunar missions. The gathered data will be shared with global research centers & institutions. pic.twitter.com/b4NQ3reLIq
— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) September 29, 2020
He added that the rover would be “100% manufactured and developed in the UAE.”
“We will continue our contribution to the global pursuit of knowledge for the benefit of humanity,” the sheikh said.
The rover will be 100% manufactured and developed in the UAE by Emirati Engineers. The UAE will be the fourth country in the world to send a mission to explore the moon. We will continue our contribution to the global pursuit of knowledge for the benefit of humanity. pic.twitter.com/1jemoipz7v
— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) September 29, 2020
The rover will be named “Rashid” after his father, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed al Maktoum, who ruled Dubai from 1958 to 1990 and served as the Emirati prime minister from 1979 until his death in 1990.
The United States, the Soviet Union, and China have all successfully landed spacecraft on the moon. Israel, India, and Japan have all tried to do the same but have thus far failed in their pursuits, according to ABC News.
The Tuesday announcement by the sheikh comes after the UAE launched a Mars orbiter from Japan in July. That orbiter, named “Hope,” is set to reach the Martian planet in February. The country has said it hopes to establish a colony of humans on Mars by 2117.
