DUBAI: Lunar exploration company iSpace will transport a United Arab Emirates rover to the moon in 2022, the company said on Wednesday, as the UAE pushes for rapid expansion in the space exploration business to diversify its economy.
The UAE is using its space program to develop its scientific and technological capabilities and reduce its reliance on oil.
The Gulf state’s, and the Arab world’s, first interplanetary probe entered Mars’ orbit in February. It is now sending data about the Martian atmosphere and climate.
The Rashid lunar rover will be designed entirely by Emiratis. The UAE had originally intended to send it into space by 2024.
Japanese company iSpace, founded in 2010, aims to provide commercial transportation to the moon with a wider mission to ultimately incorporate the moon into the earth’s economy.
The 2022 launch will be iSpace’s first mission of this kind and will use a Falcon 9 rocket from Elon Musk’s SpaceX, to be launched from Florida.
Dubai’s Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center (MBRSC) will build the Rashid lunar rover. It will remain on the moon after data collection is completed, said Emirates Lunar Mission manager Hamad Al-Marzooqi.
The SpaceX rocket will deliver an iSpace lander to the moon’s orbit. The lander will propel itself to the moon’s surface and the UAE rover will then emerge from the lander and drive off to explore, said iSpace Founder and CEO Takeshi Hakamada.
The lander will also be carrying a solid-state battery designed by Japanese company NGK Spark Plug to be tested in the lunar environment.
The lunar mission is part of the Gulf state’s broader vision for a Mars settlement by 2117.
Under the agreement, iSpace said it would also provide the Emirates Lunar Mission with wired communication and power during the cruise phase and wireless communication on the moon.
The UAE launched a National Space Programme in 2017 to develop local expertise. Its population of 9.4 million, most of whom are foreign workers, lacks the scientific and industrial base of the major countries which have space programs.
Hazza Al-Mansouri became the first Emirati in space in 2019 when he flew to the International Space Station. This week the UAE selected the first Arab woman to train as an astronaut.
UAE partners with Japan’s iSpace to send rover to the moon in 2022
https://arab.news/zzsdn
UAE partners with Japan’s iSpace to send rover to the moon in 2022
- SpaceX rocket will deliver an iSpace lander to the moon’s orbit
- UAE had originally intended to send it into space by 2024
Lebanese social entrepreneur Omar Itani recognized by Schwab Foundation
- FabricAID co-founder among 21 global recipients recognized for social innovation
DAVOS: Lebanon’s Omar Itani is one of 21 recipients of the Social Entrepreneurs and Innovators of the Year Award by the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship.
Itani is the co-founder of social enterprise FabricAID, which aims to “eradicate symptoms of poverty” by collecting and sanitizing secondhand clothing before placing items in stores in “extremely marginalized areas,” he told Arab News on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
With prices ranging from $0.25 to $4, the goal is for people to have a “dignified shopping experience” at affordable prices, he added.
FabricAID operates a network of clothing collection bins across key locations in Lebanon and Jordan, allowing people to donate pre-loved items. The garments are cleaned and sorted before being sold through the organization’s stores, while items that cannot be resold due to damage or heavy wear are repurposed for other uses, including corporate merchandise.
Since its launch, FabricAID has sold more than 1 million items, reached 200,000 beneficiaries and is preparing to expand into the Egyptian market.
Amid uncertainty in the Middle East, Itani advised young entrepreneurs to reframe challenges as opportunities.
“In Lebanon and the Arab world, we complain a lot,” he said. Understandably so, as “there are a lot of issues” in the region, resulting in people feeling frustrated and wanting to move away. But, he added, “a good portion of the challenges” facing the Middle East are “great economic and commercial opportunities.”
Over the past year, social innovators raised a combined $970 million in funding and secured a further $89 million in non-cash contributions, according to the Schwab Foundation’s recent report, “Built to Last: Social Innovation in Transition.”
This is particularly significant in an environment of geopolitical uncertainty and at a time when 82 percent report being affected by shrinking resources, triggering delays in program rollout (70 percent) and disruptions to scaling plans (72 percent).
Francois Bonnici, director of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship and a member of the World Economic Forum’s Executive Committee, said: “The next decade must move the models of social innovation decisively from the margins to the mainstream, transforming not only markets but mindsets.”
Award recipients take part in a structured three-year engagement with the Schwab Foundation, after which they join its global network as lifelong members. The program connects social entrepreneurs with international peers, collaborative initiatives, and capacity-building support aimed at strengthening and scaling their work.
