by Having an omniscient, eternal view of life can give one a false sense of divine vision… or a serious case of vertigo!
That’s what happened when the UAE’s Khalifasat satellite operated by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center (MBR) caught a dizzying orbital shot at the Education City Stadium in Qatar on December 6, 2022, as Morocco stunned Spain with a triumphant victory in the process penalty shoot-out to advance to the FIFA World Cup Quarter-Finals after a 0-0 draw.
The photo was taken by the Emirates-built Khalifasat orbiting 381 miles (613 kilometers) above Earth, looking down on the Education City Stadium where the 2022 FIFA World Cup is being held. The MBR Space Center posted the image on Twitter (opens in new tab) on December 7 along with an encouraging message for the Moroccan team. “This picture taken by KhalifaSat shows the Education City Stadium which saw Morocco’s victory which took the team to the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Congratulations to the Moroccan team for this historic achievement!” MBR’s tweet reads Space Center.
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This picture taken by KhalifaSat shows the Education City Stadium which saw the victory of Morocco which takes the team to the quarter finals of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Congratulations to the Moroccan team for this historic achievement! 🇲🇦#FIFAWorldCup #KhalifaSat pic.twitter.com/d7c7SJmqiHDecember 7, 2022
Khalifasat, also known as DubaiSat-3, is the first satellite built exclusively by the United Arab Emirates. The satellite provides high-resolution images of the Earth from the sun’s current orbit to be used in urban planning, environmental monitoring and supporting natural disaster response.
Khalifasat was launched in October 2018 on a Japanese H-IIA rocket from the country’s Tanegashima Space Center, operated by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). It is only the third spacecraft operated by the UAE space agency.
Unfortunately, despite appearing in beautiful satellite images during the World Cup, Morocco’s incredible run of success came to an end on Wednesday (14 December) when they eventually lost to France 2-0, but Morocco have plenty to be proud of during his miraculous tournament experience. France, the defending 2018 World Cup Champions, will play Argentina in the Finals on Sunday 18 December.
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