The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that will deliver the UAE's Rashid rover to space. Photo: Salem Al Marri Twitter
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that will deliver the UAE's Rashid rover to space. Photo: Salem Al Marri Twitter
Salem Al Marri, director-general of the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, in Florida for the launch of the UAE's Rashid lunar rover. Sarwat Nasir / The National
Salem Al Marri, director-general of the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, in Florida for the launch of the UAE's Rashid lunar rover. Sarwat Nasir / The National
Mr Al Marri believes the launch and arrival of the Rashid rover on the lunar surface could be a "big moment" for the Arab world. Sarwat Nasir / The National
Mr Al Marri believes the launch and arrival of the Rashid rover on the lunar surface could be a "big moment" for the Arab world. Sarwat Nasir / The National
A small team of Emirati engineers have developed the UAE's lunar mission. Here they are pictured inside the clean room, along with the Rashid rover, in the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre on June 15, 2022. Photo: MBRSC
A small team of Emirati engineers have developed the UAE's lunar mission. Here they are pictured inside the clean room, along with the Rashid rover, in the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre on June 15, 2022. Photo: MBRSC
The Hakuto-R Mission 1 lander, with the UAE's Rashid rover stored inside of it, was shipped to a Florida launch site late October, 2022. Photo: ispace
The Hakuto-R Mission 1 lander, with the UAE's Rashid rover stored inside of it, was shipped to a Florida launch site late October, 2022. Photo: ispace
World Government Summit Rashid Rover that will be going to the moon. Antonie Robertson/The National
World Government Summit Rashid Rover that will be going to the moon. Antonie Robertson/The National
ispace's Hakuto-R Mission 1 lander, which has the UAE's Rashid rover on board, was integrated onto a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Photo: ispace
ispace's Hakuto-R Mission 1 lander, which has the UAE's Rashid rover on board, was integrated onto a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Photo: ispace
Takeshi Hakamada, founder and chief executive of ispace, said he felt confident that the company's lander, which is carrying the UAE's Rashid rover on board, would make a soft landing on the Moon in 2023. Sarwat Nasir / The National
Takeshi Hakamada, founder and chief executive of ispace, said he felt confident that the company's lander, which is carrying the UAE's Rashid rover on board, would make a soft landing on the Moon in 2023. Sarwat Nasir / The National
SpaceX's launch and landing control centre in Cape Canaveral.
SpaceX's launch and landing control centre in Cape Canaveral.

UAE

SpaceX plans December 11 for UAE's Rashid rover launch

Original launch delayed due to technical issues with SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket

Sarwat Nasir
Sarwat Nasir

December 07, 2022

  • English
  • Arabic

Elon Musk's SpaceX is now targeting December 11 for the launch of the UAE's Rashid lunar rover.

The launch has been delayed several times. The November 30 launch was cancelled after SpaceX found technical issues with its Falcon 9 rocket hours before lift-off.

Japanese company ispace built the Hakuto-R Mission 1 lander, which will deliver the Rashid rover to the Moon, with a landing expected at the end of April.

The mission is now scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 11.38am, UAE time, on December 11.

"The initial launch attempt of the Hakuto-R Mission 1 lunar lander was postponed, allowing SpaceX to perform additional pre-flight checks of the launch vehicle," ispace said on Wednesday.

"ispace’s Mission 1 lunar lander was integrated into the SpaceX Falcon 9 fairing and battery charging operations for the lander will continue.

"No issues with the lander itself have been identified. As of today, no major operational changes are planned, with lunar landing scheduled for the end of April, 2023."

The launch will depend on weather conditions and technical status of the launch vehicle and payload.

Weather forecasts show that it will be mostly clear skies at the time of launch, with few clouds and low winds.

SpaceX's job will be to deliver the lander to its intended orbit in space and then it will begin its solo journey to the Moon, with the Rashid rover stored safely inside it.

A new mission control centre at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre ― the organisation that built the rover ― will be able to monitor the rover's health throughout the journey and during its 14-day stay on the Moon.

Once on the lunar surface, the rover will begin studying an unexplored region of the Moon and will gather data on the Moon's soil, dust and electrically charged particles. It is expected to take thousands of images.

The launch can be viewed live on SpaceX's website and social media channels.

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The bio

Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.

Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.

Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.

Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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Updated: December 12, 2022, 7:00 AM
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