Photo: Instagram.com
HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, has announced the launch of Rashid Rover 2, UAE’s second mission to the moon. This announcement was made after the likely hard landing of the spacecraft that carried the Rashid rover to the moon on Tuesday.
Rashid Rover 1 is marked as the first Emirati lunar mission, under the UAE Moon Exploration Programme, helping the UAE achieve the historic milestone of being the first Arab country to reach the surface of the moon. It took a team of 11 scientists and a period of six years to built the Rashid rover. The rover was placed inside the Japanese lunar lander named Hakuto-R Mission 1. Japan’s ispace said it lost contact with the spacecraft just moments before its touchdown.
Photo: Instagram.com
Sheikh Mohammed announced the launch of the Rashid 2 project, a second attempt to reach the moon, during his visit to the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) on Wednesday. The royal also added that the UAE will continue to launch new space exploration missions and keep up high aspirations.
لم تنجح مهمة المركبة التي تحمل المستكشف راشد بالهبوط على سطح القمر ..
ولكن نجحنا في رفع سقف طموحاتنا للوصول للقمر ..
ونجحنا في صنع فريق من شبابنا وبناتنا قادرين على إدارة مشاريع فضاء متقدمة ..
ونجحنا في بناء قطاع فضائي من الصفر خلال ١٠ سنوات ..
اليوم المستكشف راشد ١ على… pic.twitter.com/xWRtc619wa
— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) April 26, 2023
HH noted that, though the attempt to land the rover on the moon was unsuccessful, “we have succeeded in raising the ceiling of our ambitions to reach the moon. And we succeeded in creating a team of young men and women capable of managing advanced space projects. We succeeded in building a space sector from scratch within 10 years.”
He further added, “Today, explorer Rashid 1 is on the surface of the moon, carrying the flag of the Emirates. From today, work will begin on Rashid 2, a new explorer, for a new attempt to reach the moon. We are a country founded on ambition. 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. The next is more beautiful, greater and more daring, God willing!”
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