President Sheikh Mohamed hails UAE’s 'historic' Moon mission before launch

President Sheikh Mohamed has reviewed the UAE’s mission to the Moon, which is scheduled for launch later this year.

Sheikh Mohamed met the Emirati engineers who have been developing the mission since 2017.

The Rashid rover, a 10-kilogram four-wheel robotic vehicle, will be carried to the lunar surface on a Japanese lander, Hakuto-R Mission 1.

The mission will blast off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Florida’s Kennedy Space Centre during a launch window from October to December.

This historic project is further expanding the UAE’s contribution to the space sector

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed

“I was pleased to meet with members of the Emirates Lunar Mission team,” said Sheikh Mohamed.

“This historic project is further expanding the UAE’s contribution to the space sector and enabling our people to harness their knowledge and skills to serve their country and humanity.”

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, said the rover will land on the lunar surface in a couple of months.

“I met the team of the UAE mission that will explore the Moon,” he said.

“The Emirati explorer Rashid will land on the Moon in the coming months.

“It carries our pride in our youth and scientists, and will carry the ambitions of our people to new horizons. It will establish a new scientific stage in the history of our country from the surface of the Moon.”

The rover will explore the far-north of the Moon's near side, an area called Mare Frigoris, a Latin phrase that translates to "Sea of Cold".

Previously, Lacus Somniorum was the primary site, which was on the north-eastern part of the Moon, but that has now been changed.

Salem Al Marri, director-general of the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, said the mission will provide unique science data.

"Currently, we are conducting tests on the Rashid Rover in preparation for the mission, which is scheduled to launch in the fourth quarter of 2022," he said.

"The Rashid rover will land in Mare Frigoris, an unexplored area on the Moon's surface.

"This mission will make a significant contribution to the UAE’s goals for the national space programme.

"We will deliver first of its kind data, develop expert Emirati cadres and strengthen the UAE's position in the global space exploration sector through it."

If the Rashid rover lands successfully, it will carry out a number of scientific objectives.

They include studying the properties of lunar soil, the petrography and geology of the Moon, dust movement and studying the lunar surface plasma condition and photoelectron sheath.

The UAE mission relies heavily on the success of the lander, built by private company ispace inc.

It will carry the rover to the surface and provide wireless communication services, so Emirati engineers can stay in contact with it.

In April, ispace said that the development of the lander was on schedule, and that it could be shipped to the launch site in the autumn if all goes to plan.

UAE’s Moon rover expected to reach Florida launch site in September

“In January, ispace announced Q4 [the fourth quarter of 2022] as its earliest launch target with assembly and integration targeted for completion before the end of spring,” the company said on its website.

“As we enter Q2 2022, we’re pleased to announce that our development schedule is still on track with that timing.

“If all continues according to plan, we aim to begin final testing by early June, at which time, we will transport our lander from the ArianeGroup facility in Lampoldshausen (Germany) to an IABG facility (a company that tests spacecraft) in Ottobrunn near Munich, Germany, for final testing,” ispace said.

“At this pace, we plan to ship our lander to Florida by early autumn for launch preparations.”

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Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi

From: Dara

To: Team@

Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT

Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East

Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.

Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.

I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.

This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.

It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.

Uber on,

Dara

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Key facilities

Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
Premier League-standard football pitch
400m Olympic running track
NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
600-seat auditorium
Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
Specialist robotics and science laboratories
AR and VR-enabled learning centres
Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills

Mina Cup winners

Under 12 – Minerva Academy

Under 14 – Unam Pumas

Under 16 – Fursan Hispania

Under 18 – Madenat

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

About Karol Nawrocki

• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.

• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.

• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.

• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.

The five pillars of Islam

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Marcelo Pontes (BRA) v Azouz Anwar (EGY)

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Lucie Bertaud (FRA) v Kelig Pinson (BEL)

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Catchweight 100kg

Mohamed Ali (EGY) v Marc Vleiger (NED)

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Middleweight

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Bantamweight:

Fabio Mello (BRA) v Mark Alcoba (PHI)

Welterweight

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Bantamweight

Trent Girdham (AUS) v Jayson Margallo (PHI)

Lightweight

Usman Nurmagomedov (RUS) v Roman Golovinov (UKR)

Middleweight

Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Steve Kennedy (AUS)

Lightweight

Dan Moret (USA) v Anton Kuivanen (FIN)

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