The UAE will embark on a second attempt to land a rover on the Moon, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid said on Wednesday.
The Vice President and Ruler of Dubai said Rashid 2 would be developed and sent to space.
He declared the UAE's intention to reach the lunar surface during a visit to the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, where he met the team leading the country's mission.
The announcement came after Japan's Hakuto-R Mission 1 spacecraft, carrying the Rashid rover, probably crashed as it tried to land on the lunar surface Tuesday.
Crown Prince of Dubai
Sheikh Mohammed said Rashid 1 is on the surface of the moon "carrying the flag of the Emirates".
"We are a country founded on ambition," he said on Twitter.
"We are a country that has not stopped since December 2, 1971. It will not stop. It will not turn around. It will not set small goals for itself.
"Emiratis have proved their ability to develop advanced space projects and rapidly create a vibrant national space sector.
“The UAE built a space sector from scratch within just 10 years. The Rashid Rover mission was driven by the country’s ambitious vision for space exploration.”
Despite Tuesday's setback, the UAE "succeeded in raising the ceiling of our ambitions to reach the Moon", Sheikh Mohammed said.
"And we succeeded in creating a team of our young men and women capable of managing advanced space projects."
Both rovers are named after the late Sheikh Rashid, the founder of modern Dubai and Sheikh Mohammed's father.
Rashid 1 was the first mission under the UAE's home-grown Moon exploration programme, which took a team of 11 engineers at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre six years to build. No date was set for a second attempt.
Sheikh Mohammed was joined on the space centre visit by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai.
Sheikh Hamdan said Sheikh Mohammed had "directed us to immediately start implementing the Rashid 2 project, a new attempt to land a rover on the Moon".
“As Sheikh Mohammed once said, 'the biggest risk is not to take any risk'," Sheikh Hamdan said.
"Risk is an integral part of any space mission, but that has never deterred us from exploring new frontiers of space.
"Our ambition knows no bounds, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to undertake groundbreaking missions that will establish the UAE as a leading space-faring nation."
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The live-streamed launch of the UAE’s Rashid rover in December 2022. -
The Hakuto-R Mission 1 lander carrying the rover is expected to land on the Moon at the end of April. -
The lander is expected to attempt a lunar orbit insertion towards the end of March. -
The spacecraft has travelled about 1.37 million km since being launched. -
The lander is the first privately funded spacecraft to travel that far. Photo: ispace -
The Rashid rover is the first mission under the UAE's long-term Moon exploration programme. -
Landing on the Moon is challenging, with more than a third of lunar landing missions failing. -
The Moon has no atmosphere, forcing landers to perform complex manoeuvres to achieve a soft landing. -
Only the US, former Soviet Union and China have achieved a soft landing on the Moon. -
The 10-kilogram exploration rover will study the geography of the lunar surface. -
The team also hope the rover can survive a lunar night, when temperatures plunge to minus 183°C. -
The Hakuto-R Mission 1 lander is taking a longer route to save on fuel and reduce costs. -
The lander in space after detaching from SpaceX's rocket. Photo: SpaceX -
A SpaceX engine takes the lander to a lunar transfer orbit after launch. Photo: SpaceX -
Reem AlMehisni, rover thermal engineering chief at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre in Dubai. Khushnum Bhandari / The National -
Officials prepare for the launch at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre. Khushnum Bhandari / The National -
The control room of the space centre. Khushnum Bhandari / The National -
Flight control teams in the Mission Control Centre. Khushnum Bhandari / The National -
The final prototype of the Rashid rover. Photo: MBRSC -
Mission Control Centre staff at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre. Khushnum Bhandari / The National -
The Mission Control Centre. Khushnum Bhandari / The National -
The exterior of the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre. Khushnum Bhandari / The National -
Emirati engineers behind the UAE's lunar mission pose for picture with the Rashid rover. Photo: MBRSC -
The interior of the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre. Khushnum Bhandari / The National
