Dubai Moon would be a giant leap for tourism and all eyes on Ramadan skies

Things are always bigger, faster and better in Dubai. It's a city built on ambition and scale. That's why the Dubai Moon story has had me intrigued since I moved here last year. Is there anything more 'Dubai' than building a giant, spherical tourist attraction that aims to give guests an out-of-this-world experience? And, of course, it will be the biggest in the world.

Every few months we would see the rumours reappear of this outer-space endeavour. They would pick up before crashing back down to Earth, only to orbit back around again a few months later. It all seemed like pie in the sky.

We have enjoyed the imagination-capturing speculation but one journalist was tired of the gossip. Our intrepid business reporter, Nivetha Dayanand, launched a one-woman mission to find out the facts behind all of the noise. One small step for journalism, one giant leap for the truth.

I hope you have read her piece about the Dubai Moon in the newspaper and on gulfnews.com, as she spoke directly to the people behind the proposal, Michael R. Henderson and Sandra G. Matthews, co-founders of Moon World Resorts Inc. No fluff, just facts.

The project is real, it is massive and they want to do it in Dubai. The signature attraction would be a ‘lunar surface and lunar base’ with visitors able to feel like Neil Armstrong. “We’re not a theme park. It’s an adult oriented facility,” Henderson said, noting that the space would also be used for space training and space tourism experiences. That would all be alongside a resort with various centres and facilities. They really do want to boldly go where no-one has gone before.

Has the countdown begun for the launch? Not quite, they are expecting it to happen no earlier than 2032. It’s big and bold and hopefully it will be another fun addition to this ever-evolving city that is attracting more and more tourists every year.

On the subject of the moon, all eyes will be on the skies at the start of next week as we eagerly anticipate the start of Ramadan.

The newsroom is finalising all of our pre-Ramadan guides and explainers while lining up lots of UAE-focused stories about how people from different backgrounds will be observing this time of reflection. We also know that it is vital that we have accurate timings and the best information for all of our readers. You can rely on us to get it right. We will also have some surprises over the coming days and I hope you all enjoy our coverage. It's sure to be a peaceful and blessed time for us all.  

I'm in a particularly good mood heading into the weekend as my hometown football team, Middlesbrough, have rocketed to the top of the league after 10 years in the wilderness. The galaxy of stars that make up the Premier League may be calling us, which would be very useful to 'Boro' fans living in the UAE as more of the games will be on TV.

This editor would be over the moon.