FILE - In this Wednesday, May 6, 2015, file photo, Sarah Amiri, deputy project manager of the United Arab Emirates Mars mission, talks about the project named "Hope," or "al-Amal" in Arabic, which is scheduled for launch in 2020, during a ceremony in Dubai, UAE. AFP
A top official in the United Arab Emirates says his country plans to send an unmanned spacecraft to the moon in 2024.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who is also the ruler of Dubai, made the announcement on Twitter on Tuesday.
Sheikh Mohammed's announcement comes after the launch of a Mars probe earlier this year by the UAE, an oil-rich nation on the Arabian Peninsula.
Sheikh Mohammed said the rover would be named ``Rashid,`` the same name of his late father, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum.
Short link: