Sky's the Limit? Israel and UAE Agree to Collaborate on Space Exploration Projects

Bringing together 4,000 industry professionals, the event that is slated to last until 29 October, features a variety of innovations from all over the world, including Israel, which signed a historic space exploration and cooperation agreement with the UAE earlier this month.

Estie Rosen, the head of media relations at Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), representing the nation in Dubai, says she's excited at the opportunities opening up in the UAE following the signing of a historic cooperation agreement.

"We are excited to be here in Dubai and present the world with our systems", Rosen said over the phone. "We look at the UAE as a hub, and we are counting to have long-term relations with this country, especially as both of us are technology-oriented and both would like to develop ourselves even further", she added.

Although it is not yet clear what kind of projects the two nations will be working on, Rosen indicates that the possibilities are endless.

"These can be joint research and academic projects. Exploration missions or ventures. We have many options ahead of us and I am sure it will be a successful journey for both sides".

Sky's the Limit

That journey has already kicked off. Aside from signing the space agreement, Israel and the UAE have also agreed to collaborate on two ambitious initiatives. One is scientific research based on the Israeli-French satellite Venus and its data. The other is Beresheet 2, the Jewish state's second attempt to launch a lunar mission.

The previous Israeli mission in 2019 ended in fiasco after the Beresheet 1 lander crashed only 15 km away from the surface of the Moon.

Beresheet is loaded onto its launcher, Falcon-9 before its launch into space Thursday night

Yet, Rosen says the mission cannot be written off as a total failure.

Israel is the fourth nation to attempt a landing and a seventh to orbit the Moon.

In addition, Beresheet was the first non-governmental mission to the Moon, the first ride-share to the Moon, and the smallest spacecraft to aim and reach it.

"In space missions you have risks and you take chances. The Beresheet 2 mission is going to be different, and we will have more options for landing. But you can never guarantee success"."With Beresheet 1, one of our most important goals was to educate Israeli kids and encourage them to take up space and science studies. Although on the engineering level, the mission didn't reach its target, on the level of education it certainly did".

Rosen claims Israel and her company learned from their past mistakes, and she seems to be optimistic about the Jewish state's second attempt in 2024.

Just like the earlier effort, it will also attempt to educate and encourage Israeli children but this time around Beresheet 2 will be comprised of three spacecraft - one orbiter and two landers - to make sure that it will eventually land on the surface of the Moon.

"In space missions you have risks and you take chances. The Beresheet 2 mission is going to be different, and we will have more options for landing. But you can never guarantee success".