The UAE launched the Arab world’s first mission to the Moon on Sunday, marking a historic beginning for the country’s long-term lunar exploration programme.
Skies lit up across the launch site in Cape Canaveral, Florida, when a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off with 163 tonnes of thrust to deliver the Rashid rover to a lunar transfer orbit in space.
The small rover is now on its way to the Moon aboard the Hakuto-R Mission 1 lander, built by Japanese lunar exploration company ispace, on a journey that is expected to last five months.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, and Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, were in the control room of the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre to watch.
The rocket blasted off into space at 11.38am UAE time from the Launch Complex 40 pad, a site operated by the US Space Force.
Ispace’s lander separates from the rocket about 35 minutes after lift-off and then begins its solo journey to the Moon.
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