UAE startup Orbital Space has signed an agreement with China's Deep Space Exploration Lab to develop payloads and lunar exploration technologies for China's International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) programme — an ambitious plan to establish a permanent research base on the Moon within the next decade.
Agreement Signed at International Deep Space Exploration Conference
The deal was announced on 5 September 2024 at the International Deep Space Exploration Conference held in China. Under the agreement, Orbital Space will help develop payloads and lunar exploration technologies for missions that could launch as part of China's ILRS programme, which aims to construct a lunar base by the mid-2030s.
Orbital Space will also invite Chinese space specialists to the UAE to participate in youth training activities, helping nurture a new generation of space professionals. Nada Al Shammari, Director of Orbital Space, said countries around the world should work closely together to achieve milestones in space exploration — citing China's rapid advances in lunar research as a model for international cooperation.
UAE's First Private Moon Mission Planned for 2026
Orbital Space is already planning the Arab world's first privately funded lunar mission, targeting a 2026 launch. The company's Lunaris Platform will be carried aboard an Astrobotic Griffin-class lunar lander. Payloads will test different materials against Moon dust, supporting the development of protective technologies such as spacesuits resistant to the abrasive properties of lunar regolith.
The company previously launched QMR-KWT — Kuwait's first miniature satellite — aboard a SpaceX rocket in 2021 to assist students with software testing.
China's Lunar Ambitions and the ILRS Programme
China's lunar programme has recorded significant achievements in recent years. The Chang'e-6 mission successfully landed on the Moon's far side in June 2024, retrieving samples from the South Pole-Aitken Basin — an area largely unexplored before that mission. The ILRS programme builds on these milestones, aiming for a permanent research station with access to resources including water ice near the lunar south pole.
Orbital Space is the second UAE entity to join China's Moon base effort. The University of Sharjah became the first, signing a collaboration agreement with China in November 2023.
UAE Walks a Dual Path in Space
The UAE is a signatory to NASA's Artemis Accords and continues to actively cooperate with international space agencies. Both China and the United States are in a competitive race to return humans to the Moon — China targeting 2030 and the US pushing ahead with its Artemis programme. The UAE's engagement with both programmes positions the country as a credible, independent player in global space exploration.
