UAE to launch new Moon mission after rover likely lost in lunar lander crash

Dubai: The UAE is to launch a new Moon mission after a spacecraft carrying its Rashid exploratory rover was thought to have crashed during an attempted lunar landing.

Japanese company iSpace, which had been hoping to complete the first landing on the Moon’s surface by a private firm, said there was a high probability the Hakuto-R lander had been lost.

Communication with the craft was broken just moments before it was due to touch down on Tuesday.