The launch follows NASA’s Artemis I lunar mission and is the first stage in the UAE’s ambitious moon exploration programme. The Gulf state intends to send numerous spacecraft to the moon, including rovers and orbiters, with a second rover set to launch as early as 2025.
The MBRSC started building the 10kg four-wheel Rashid Rover in 2017. It was created solely by an Emirati team. “The team did an excellent job in initiating and developing the mission,” Hamad Al Marzooqi, project manager of the Emirates Lunar Mission at the MBRSC, told CNN.
The project is also being used by the MBRSC to feed grandiose ambitions for a Mars colony. It hopes to establish the first human colony on Mars by 2117. Al Marzooqi expects the lunar surface expedition will serve as a springboard to Mars.
