H.H. Sheikh Mohammed announces new Moon mission

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and the Ruler of Dubai, has said work will begin immediately on Rashid 2, for a new attempt to reach the moon.

His Highness paid tribute to everyone involved in Tuesday night's attempted lunar landing and said that while the Rashid Rover mission was not successful in its aims, it has fuelled further ambitions.

Taking to Twitter, His Highness said "The mission of the spacecraft carrying the explorer Rashid did not succeed in landing on the surface of the moon.

"However, we succeeded in raising the ceiling of our ambitions to reach the moon. And we succeeded in creating a team of our young men and women capable of managing advanced space projects.

"We succeeded in building a space sector from scratch within 10 years.

"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."

Sheikh Mohammed added, "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."

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

His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council,  reiterated that the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre has been given the go-ahead to start work on the new mission.

Also posting on Twitter, Sheikh Hamdan wrote, "His Highness Sheikh Mohammed once said: 'The biggest risk is not to take any risk.' Risk is an integral part of any space mission, but that has never deterred us from exploring new frontiers of space.

"Our ambition knows no bounds, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to undertake groundbreaking missions that will establish the UAE as a leading spacefaring nation.

"Sheikh Mohammed has directed us to immediately start implementing the Rashid 2 project, a new attempt to land a rover on the moon."

. @HHShkMohd once said: “The biggest risk is not to take any risk.” Risk is an integral part of any space mission, but that has never deterred us from exploring new frontiers of space.

Our ambition knows no bounds, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to undertake… pic.twitter.com/oD2RuoWfn6

— Hamdan bin Mohammed (@HamdanMohammed) April 26, 2023