UAE-built Rashid Rover takes off to moon successfully

Dubai, The Gulf Observer: The UAE-built Rashid Rover, the first Emirati mission to the surface of the Moon, today lifted off on board a Space X Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, US, at 11.38am UAE time. The Arab world’s first lunar rover successfully blasted off to space on Sunday.

With this successful launch, the UAE has become the first Arab country and the fourth country in the world to land on the lunar surface after the United States, Soviet Union, and China.

The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) said once launched, the integrated spacecraft will take a low-energy route to the moon rather than a direct approach, which means the landing will take about five months after launch, in April 2023.