The UAE Moon Mission is on its final stages to create history in the Arab world.
The launch of the Emirati-built Rashid Rover is scheduled to take place between November 9 and 15. The final phase of testing is now complete.
Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said the rover has “officially cleared all the required tests, bringing the first Arab mission one step closer to the lunar surface”.
We thank the team at @MBRSpaceCentre for their efforts in developing the Rashid Rover, the UAE’s first mission to the Moon. The rover has officially cleared all required tests, bringing the first Arab mission to the lunar surface one step closer. Our next stop: the Moon pic.twitter.com/oQRc6evYUV
— Hamdan bin Mohammed (@HamdanMohammed) October 12, 2022
He then congratulated the team of engineers and experts at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), praising their efforts in developing the lunar rover.
About Rashid Rover
Rashid Rover is the first lunar spacecraft built by an Arab country.
The UAE’s rover is named after the late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, former Ruler of Dubai. The four-wheel Rashid Rover weighs only 10 kg and has been built by engineers from the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center.
The rover is equipped with latest technologies and innovative devices and it is distinguished by its ability to resist the lunar surface temperature. It’s primary goal is to study the moon’s plasma and provide answers to long-standing questions about moon dust, mobility on the lunar surface, and how different surfaces interact with particles.
It will send data and images back to Earth, using two high-resolution cameras: Microscopic, and thermal imaging ones.
The rover can withstand extreme temperatures on the lunar surface, which drops to lows of minus 173 degrees Celsius.
Rashid will be the ‘world’s most compact rover’ to land on the moon.
Rashid Rover launch details
Rashid Rover will be launched from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at its Space Launch Complex 40. It will blast off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
The launch window is set between November 9 and 15.
Once the Rashid Rover is moon-bound, lunar exploration company Japan-based ispace Inc will be in charge of landing the rover on the Moon’s surface, as it is part of their Hakuto-R programme. Under the agreement signed between MBRSC and Japan ispace inc, it will also provide wired communication and power during the cruise phase, and engage in wireless communication on the lunar surface.
The rover would land in an unexplored area called ‘Mare Frigoris’ on the moon. Also known as the ‘Sea of Cold’, Mare Frigoris lies in the far lunar north, according to NASA.
How long will it ‘stay alive’ for?
The mission will last one lunar day, or 14 Earth days.
The mission will see the rover collect images and information that allows the UAE to study how to build a human settlement on the moon, prepare for future missions to study Mars, and provide the scientific community with answers about the solar system.
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