The UAE Teams Up With NASA To Launch New Moon-Orbiting Space Station
The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre will join the Lunar Gateway Station project
UAE and NASA to Launch New Moon-Orbiting Space Station…
Exciting news hit the UAE this week as it was announced that, in partnership with NASA, the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) will join the Lunar Gateway Station project. Alongside other participating countries, including Japan, Canada, and the European Union, the UAE is officially taking part in creating the first space station that will orbit the Moon. Harper’s Bazaar Arabia shares everything we know about the collaboration…
Joining the first lunar space station project is a historic feat for the UAE. A milestone that will contribute to bringing back humans to the surface of the Moon. pic.twitter.com/vLnn2kyoHf
— MBR Space Centre (@MBRSpaceCentre) January 8, 2024
UAE and NASA to Launch New Moon-Orbiting Space Station
As part of the Artemis program, the Lunar Gateway Station Project, also called Gateway, aims to become humanity’s first space station around the Moon. According to NASA, Gateway is expected to make the Moon a destination for science and act as a stepping stone, allowing scientists and astronauts to explore deep space and Mars further.
UAE’s Contribution
The UAE will join the long-term exploration of the Moon mission by developing the Crew and Science Airlock module for Gateway. UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, along with the country’s Vice President His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, announced the partnership at Qasr Al Watan in Abu Dhabi, sharing that the collaboration will also send the first Emirati astronaut into lunar orbit as part of the project.
This won’t be the first time the UAE and NASA partner together. In 2019, Hazzaa Al Mansoori became the first Emirati to fly to space during a short mission to the International Space Station. More recently, in 2023, Emirati astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi joined NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission. There, he took part in the floating laboratory’s scientific research that only furthered human knowledge and discovery. At the moment, two Emirati candidates are training at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Image courtesy of Instagram/MBRSCSpaceCentre