ISTANBUL

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Thursday postponed the launch of its rover to explore the moon for a 2nd time.

Rashid Rover, the Arab world’s first lunar mission, was originally scheduled to blast off on Wednesday, but was delayed for one day until Thursday before it was postponed once again.

iSpace, a global lunar exploration company, said the mission was postponed to perform additional pre-flight checks of the launch vehicle.

“After further inspections of the launch vehicle and data review, we’re standing down from tomorrow’s (today) launch of ipsace_inc’s HAKUTO-R Mission 1; a new target launch date will be shared once confirmed,” it said on Twitter.

The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre said a new launch date will be set in the coming days.

If Rashid rover successfully lands on the moon, it will be the Arab world’s first lunar mission, placing the UAE as the fourth country to reach the moon.

The mission would also see the first spacecraft funded and built by a private Japanese firm to land on the moon.

*Ikram Imane Kouachi contributed to this report