HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, announced a landmark milestone in the UAE's space ambitions: a cooperation agreement with Thales Alenia Space to establish the European firm as the UAE's strategic partner for NASA's Lunar Gateway Space Station programme.
UAE Joins the Lunar Gateway Programme
The UAE executed the cooperation agreement through a statement on X (formerly Twitter), designating Thales Alenia Space as the key collaborator for its Lunar Gateway role. Under the deal, the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) will lead the scientific execution of the project — and crucially, the agreement creates the conditions for the first Emirati Arab astronaut to conduct orbital activities around the Moon.
The UAE's contribution to the Lunar Gateway will be the Emirates Airlock — a crew and science airlock module that will allow astronauts to perform spacewalks, transfer crew and research to and from the station, and serve as an additional docking port for visiting spacecraft. The module weighs approximately 10 tonnes, measures 10 metres in length and 4 metres in width, and is scheduled for launch around 2030.
High-Level Witnesses to the Signing
The signing ceremony was witnessed by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, alongside HH Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President of the UAE — underlining the national significance of the agreement.
Sheikh Hamdan described the project as essential to establishing a permanent lunar settlement and advancing future interplanetary exploration capabilities.
UAE's Growing Space Track Record
The Lunar Gateway agreement is the latest chapter in a rapid and consistent expansion of the UAE's space programme:
- MBZSAT — the UAE's advanced high-resolution imaging satellite, launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in January 2025. - Hope Probe — the first Arab interplanetary mission, which successfully entered Mars orbit in February 2021. - ISS milestone — astronaut Hazzaa AlMansoori became the first Emirati in space, reaching the International Space Station in September 2019.
International Collaboration at the Core
The UAE collaborates with the United States, Japan, Canada, and the European Union on the Lunar Gateway initiative. NASA's Gateway will be the first space station to orbit the Moon, serving as a staging point for Artemis lunar surface missions and future deep-space exploration toward Mars. An Emirati astronaut is expected to travel to the station on a future Artemis mission — the first time a UAE national will be in lunar orbit.
