The Gulf space race in 2026 is led by the UAE and Saudi Arabia. The UAE became the first Arab nation to orbit Mars (the Hope probe, 2021), the first Arab country to launch a lunar rover (Rashid, 2022) and runs the Arab world’s first astronaut programme. Saudi Arabia, having flown the first Arab woman to space in 2023, has committed roughly USD 2.1 billion to a space sector now valued at about USD 8.7 billion.
What has the UAE achieved in space?
The UAE’s programme, run mainly through the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) and the UAE Space Agency, has moved fast. Its flagship Emirates Mars Mission, the “Hope” probe, reached Martian orbit in February 2021 and studies the planet’s atmosphere and weather. It was the first interplanetary mission by any Arab country.
The programme has also notched crewed milestones. In 2019 Hazza Al Mansoori became the first Emirati in space, and in 2023 Sultan Al Neyadi completed the first long-duration mission by an Arab astronaut, spending about six months aboard the ISS and performing the first spacewalk by an Arab. These flights, run in partnership with agencies such as NASA and companies including SpaceX and Axiom Space, have rapidly built Emirati expertise in human spaceflight.
The Moon: Rashid rovers
In December 2022 the UAE became the first Arab country, and only the fourth nation ever, to launch a lunar rover, Rashid. The lander carrying it failed to touch down safely, so the MBRSC is preparing Rashid 2, which the centre has contracted the US firm Firefly Aerospace to fly aboard its Blue Ghost 2 mission. A separate UAE Moon-mission goal is targeted for 2026.
Who are the UAE’s astronauts?
The UAE Astronaut Programme, launched in 2017, was the first of its kind in the Arab world. It has already sent Emiratis to the International Space Station and is training the next generation, including Nora Al Matrooshi, the Arab world’s first female astronaut candidate, profiled in our piece on Nora Al Matrooshi’s mission.
What is Saudi Arabia doing in space?
Saudi Arabia has scaled up quickly under Vision 2030. In May 2023, astronaut Rayyanah Barnawi flew on the Axiom Space AX-2 mission to the ISS, becoming the first Saudi woman and first Arab woman in space; she and colleague Ali Alqarni ran 11 microgravity experiments during the 10-day flight. The Saudi Space Agency focuses on satellites, research and building a domestic space industry, and in 2024 signed a framework agreement with the US government and NASA on space exploration.
| Milestone | Country | Year |
|---|---|---|
| First Arab Mars orbiter (Hope) | UAE | 2021 |
| First Arab lunar rover (Rashid) | UAE | 2022 |
| First Arab woman in space (Barnawi) | Saudi Arabia | 2023 |
What role do satellites and future missions play?
Beyond headline-grabbing crewed flights and rovers, satellites are the workhorse of the Gulf programmes. The UAE has built and launched a series of Earth-observation and communications satellites, including the home-developed KhalifaSat, and its MBRSC develops spacecraft in-house rather than only buying them abroad. The UAE has also announced an ambitious deep-space plan to send a spacecraft to explore multiple asteroids in the main asteroid belt later this decade, extending its reach well beyond Mars and the Moon. Saudi Arabia’s agency is prioritising its own satellite manufacturing, a national space accelerator to seed start-ups in areas such as satellite communication and space tourism, and training programmes to build a domestic engineering base. For both countries, owning satellite capability underpins everyday services on the ground, navigation, telecoms, mapping, climate monitoring and border security, which makes space an infrastructure investment as much as a prestige one.
Why does the Gulf invest in space?
Space spending is part of the economic diversification away from oil. Saudi Arabia allocated about USD 2.1 billion to its space programme under Vision 2030, and its space economy was valued at roughly USD 8.7 billion in 2024, with growth expected in manufacturing and downstream services like data analytics and navigation. Space builds high-skill jobs, national prestige and spin-off technology, the same diversification logic driving Gulf sovereign wealth funds and even their stakes in ventures like SpaceX and satellite connectivity.
FAQ
Was the UAE’s first Moon landing successful?
No. The Rashid rover launched in 2022, but the lander carrying it failed to touch down safely. The UAE is now preparing a follow-up, Rashid 2.
Who was the first Arab woman in space?
Saudi astronaut Rayyanah Barnawi, who flew on the Axiom AX-2 mission to the International Space Station in 2023.
How big is Saudi Arabia’s space economy?
It was valued at around USD 8.7 billion in 2024 and is forecast to grow through 2035 across manufacturing and downstream services.
Bottom line: The Gulf space race is real and accelerating, the UAE leads on deep-space and lunar firsts while Saudi Arabia builds a multi-billion-dollar space economy, both treating space as a pillar of life after oil.
Primary source: the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre, the UAE agency behind the missions described.
