UAE congratulates NASA for Artemis II success in lunar mission

The United Arab Emirates have congratulated NASA for the success of their historic Artemis II lunar mission, and have promised space advancements of their own in the future.

The Artemis II capsule and its four-member crew safely splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on Friday after nearly 10 days in space, capping the first voyage by humans to the vicinity of the moon in over half a century, deeper into space than anyone had flown before.

In a post on his official X account, Director General of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre Salem Humaid AlMarri said NASA's mission "achieved key objectives for human spaceflight".

He added that soon the UAE's own Lunar Mission will pursue its objectives with Rashid Rover 2, as it prepares to land on the lunar far side.

Congratulations to our partners at @NASA and the Canadian Space Agency on the safe return of the Artemis II crew and the success of their historic lunar flyby.

The journey of lunar exploration unites our ambitions. Today, Artemis II has achieved key objectives for human… pic.twitter.com/zTjcXdcIGx

— Salem AlMarri سالم حميد المري (@Salem_HAlMarri) April 11, 2026

The UAE are already aiming to lead the way in space exploration with their Emirates Mars Mission, recently revealing that their 'Hope Probe' - which has been in Mars' orbit since 2021 - will continue to gather ground-breaking information for another three years.