'We pray for a good landing': UAE space chief says hopes high for 2026 Moon mission

Forum in Dubai also hears budget cuts could undermine US dreams of venturing to Mars

A rendering of Firefly's Blue Ghost 2 mission hurtling towards the Moon. Photo: Firefly Aerospace

The UAE's space chief has set out the nation's ambitions to embark on a third mission to the Moon – even before a planned second flight next year.

Salem Al Qubasi, director general of the UAE Space Agency, said a second lunar landing bid remains on track, with "hopes high" for a milestone achievement.

The Rashid 1 rover, part of Japan’s Hakuto-R Mission 1 in April 2023, was lost when the lander crashed into the Moon's surface.

The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre selected Firefly, a US company, to oversee the launch of the Rashid 2 rover, carried by Blue Ghost 2.

“There are plans for a second rover and also for a third,” said Mr Qubaisi at the Futurists X Summit in Dubai on Tuesday. "So, the plan is still alive. We’re keeping our hopes high and praying for a good landing this time.”

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, said in May that the UAE was to attempt to become only the second nation to land on the far side of the Moon, after China made history in 2019 when its Chang'e-4 mission landed in the Von Karman crater.

The Moon mission would represent another leap forward for the UAE in the global space race.

The Emirates has already launched its Hope Probe to Mars and sent two astronauts to the ISS. The UAE Space Agency is also overseeing the Emirates mission to the asteroid belt, under which the MBR Explorer spacecraft will blast off in 2028 to explore seven asteroids and attempt to land on one.

Political hurdles for US Mars quest

Meanwhile, a retired Nasa astronaut told the Dubai gathering the political climate in the US is the greatest obstacle to the nation’s space ambitions, warning that divisions could derail long-term plans to send humans to Mars.

Scott Kelly spent nearly a year on board the International Space Station (ISS) from 2015 to 2016 in a mission that studied the effects of long-duration spaceflight on the human body.

Mr Kelly said the US is lacking the political will to reach Mars. His comments come as Nasa is shifting priorities and redirecting funds from scientific programmes to human exploration.

Under a proposed White House budget for 2026, Nasa funding would be cut by about 25 per cent, which could compel the agency to carry out mass layoffs.

“We could go to Mars very soon if we had that kind of support," Mr Kelly said. "But that support is very expensive and is a long-term commitment.

“Especially in the United States right now, that's currently a big challenge. Politically, we're not where we need to be. You need the population to elect the representatives that believe in science and that then will be proponents of going to Mars.”

From left, futurist author Brett King, UAE Space Agency chief Salem Al Qubaisi, former astronaut Scott Kelly and European Space Agency's Tommaso Ghidini at the Futurists X Summit in Dubai. Victor Besa / The National

President Donald Trump appointed Sean Duffy, the US Transportation Secretary, as interim administrator of Nasa in July, after withdrawing billionaire Jared Isaacman as a candidate for the role.

“I think what’s very important to this whole space conversation is the problem we have in the United States that is just kind of out of control right now ... we have people who do not agree with each other and are not capable of working with each other, which is a disaster,” said Mr Kelly.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk's company SpaceX is building Starship, a deep-space rocket capable of reaching Mars. The project is still under development, with test flights under way.

Mr Musk had previously said human flights to the red planet could begin as early as 2029, but revised this to 2031 in comments on his X platform.

International partnerships

Mr Kelly, who has logged 520 days in orbit across four missions, said international co-operation was crucial for Mars missions to become a reality.

He said the ISS was a good example of what foreign partnerships could achieve, with the US and Russia co-operating in space for more than two decades despite being political rivals on ground.

“My hope and dream would be that we would have a base on the Moon, where astronauts, cosmonauts and whoever from around the world are working productively there, and also have missions to Mars,” he said.

“What the space programme has taught us is that you can work productively and peacefully together with people that you have little in common with and that you disagree with.

“In some cases, they were once your enemy but you can do work safely and productively, and be successful. So, I hope we really focus on that, and that we have an international effort to put humans back on the Moon and Mars.”

The International Space Station, on which Scott Kelly spent nearly a year. Photo: Nasa

Nasa is working on sending three astronauts around the Moon next year as part of its Artemis programme.

It will be the agency's second mission – though the first with a crew on board, under the programme – which aims to return humans to the lunar surface, where they have not set foot since 1972.

A planned third mission would involve a crewed lunar landing attempt in 2027.

The programme has faced criticism for being unsustainable, with each Space Launch System mission allegedly costing $4 billion.

But Nasa is committed to beating China to the Moon, which aims to land people on the lunar surface by 2030.

Nasa press secretary Bethany Stevens said the US President "has made himself clear. America will win the second space race", and vowed that a return to the Moon would happen before Mr Trump leaves office.