Authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Sunday launched a space mission to the Moon, the first by an Arab country, the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center (MBRSC) has confirmed.
«Liftoff. The ‘Falcon 9’ rocket carrying the Rashid Rover, the first Emirati mission to the surface of the Moon, has been launched,» the agency said through its account on the social network Twitter.
UAE Prime Minister and Vice President Mohamed bin Rashid al Maktoum has applauded the launch and said that «reaching the Moon means reaching an exceptional station in the ambitious march of a country and a people whose aspirations have no ceiling.»
«The Rashid Rover is part of an ambitious space program by the UAE that started with Mars and moves on to the Moon and Venus. Our goal is to transform knowledge, develop our capabilities and increase the scientific footprint in human history,» he noted on Twitter.
The ‘Rashid Rover’, built by Emirati engineers, will be sent to previously unexplored regions of the satellite, as picked up by Al Arabiya TV channel. The UAE has stressed that it expects to develop more similar devices in the future for other missions.
