UAE’s Moon mission successfully launched

ANKARA (AA) – The United Arab Emirates (UAE) said Sunday its rover to explore the Moon was successfully launched.

Rashid Rover, the Arab world’s first lunar mission, blasted off aboard the American company SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

The explorer's journey, from its launch until its arrival on the Moon's surface, will take about five months, while its main exploratory mission will take over 14 lunar days.

“The UAE launched the explorer Rashid, with the aim of landing on the Moon, to be the fourth in the world and the first in the Arab world to land on the surface of the Moon, in the event that the mission is crowned with success,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, said on Twitter.

If Rashid rover successfully lands on the Moon, it will be the Arab world’s first lunar mission, placing the Gulf country as the fourth country to reach the Moon.

* Ikram Imane Kouachi contributed to this report