The Vice President of the United Arab Emirates, Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, confirmed that the UAE has succeeded in raising its ambitions to reach the moon. He announced that work on Rashid 2, a new lunar explorer, will begin today. He tweeted: "The mission of the spacecraft carrying the Rashid explorer did not succeed in landing on the moon’s surface... but we succeeded in raising our aspirations to reach the moon... and we succeeded in creating a team of our youth capable of managing advanced space projects... and we succeeded in building a space sector from scratch in 10 years."
He added, "Today, the Rashid 1 explorer on the moon carries the UAE flag... serving as the biggest proof of our courage... our out-of-the-box thinking... and our attempt to reach the moon... Starting today, work on Rashid 2 will begin... a new explorer... for a new attempt to reach the moon.” He continued, "We are a nation founded on ambition... we are a nation that has not stopped since December 2, 1971... and it will not stop... will not look back... and will not set small goals for itself... what lies ahead is more beautiful, greater, and bolder by God's will."
