Work starts on Emirates Airlock as UAE sets its sights on Moon

The UAE has begun work on a lunar orbiting station being developed by Nasa, which will pave the way for Emirati astronauts to take part in Moon missions.

The Emirates is to contribute an airlock to the planned Gateway space station as part of an international collaboration aimed at advancing space exploration.

The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre started to develop the component of last week, said director general Salem Al Marri.

UAE officials have held talks with project chiefs at Nasa’s Johnson Space Centre in Houston, he said.

The airlock under development is an airtight room used to enter and exit the space station, which is due to be built by 2028.

“This week, we started the work on the Gateway Lunar Space Station after our leadership announced the UAE’s participation in the project,” said Mr Al Marri in a post on social media.

“We had several meetings with the Gateway team at Nasa’s Johnson Space Centre to co-ordinate the efforts, and our team at MBRSC is starting to work on the Emirates Airlock, which will used in the first lunar station in history.

“We are still in the beginning of the journey, but with the dedication of the MBRSC team and our collaboration with Nasa, the European Space Agency, the Canadian Space Agency and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, I’m sure we will achieve our ambitious goals.”

Mr Al Marri shared pictures on social media of a prototype of a part of the Gateway being inspected by UAE astronauts Sultan Al Neyadi, Minister of State for Youth, Hazza Al Mansouri, Mohammed Al Mulla and Nora Al Matrooshi.

“In these photos, you can see the mock-up of lunar Gateway’s habitation and logistics outpost, the first constructed part of the Gateway,” said Mr Al Marri.

The UAE signed a deal with the US to support the major space initiative this month.

The agreement includes access to the station for UAE astronauts, boosting efforts to send the first Emirati to the Moon’s orbit. Once completed, the airlock will be launched on Nasa’s Space Launch System rocket.