UAE Moon mission: Sheikh Mohammed announces new attempt to land on lunar surface with Rashid 2

UAE Moon mission: Sheikh Mohammed announces new attempt to land on lunar surface with Rashid 2

Work on a new lunar explorer begins today, Dubai Ruler says, a day after likely crash of Hakuto-R Mission 1 spacecraft carrying Rashid Rover

By Sahim Salim Published: Wed 26 Apr 2023, 6:39 PM Last updated: Wed 26 Apr 2023, 7:09 PM

The UAE will start working on a new lunar rover as it announced a new attempt to reach the Moon. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said the rover would be called Rashid 2.

The announcement came a day after the Hakuto-R Mission 1 spacecraft carrying the Rashid Rover likely crashed on the lunar surface.

The Dubai Ruler visited the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), where the rover was built by an all-Emirati team.

Sheikh Mohammed said Rashid 1 is on the surface of the Moon “carrying the flag of the Emirates”. Both rovers are named after the late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, builder of modern Dubai.

“The mission of the spacecraft carrying the Rashid Rover did not succeed in landing on the Moon. However, we succeeded in raising the ceiling of our ambitions to reach the Moon,” Sheikh Mohammed tweeted. “We succeeded in creating a team of