UAE catapults first rocket of Arab world to Moon

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has catapulted  Rashid Rover - the Arab world’s first mission to the Moon – was launched on December 11, the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center (MBRSC) announced on its official Twitter account.

The launch came after it was previously postponed for “pre-flight checkouts", Al Arabiya reports.

The launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the UAE’s Rashid rover successfully took off from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum accompanied by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, were present at the launching event.

The Rashid Rover - built by Emirati engineers from the UAE’s Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center (MBRSC) - is to be sent to regions of the Moon unexplored by humans.

It marks the UAE’s first Moon mission, with more rovers to be developed in the future.