The UAE’s mission to the moon has blasted off from Cape Canaveral in Florida.
After several delays in recent weeks the much-awaited moment in UAE history came at 11.38 UAE time when the SpaceX Falcon 9 carrying UAE’s Rashid Rover took off on its mission to the moon.
It marks the beginning of the first Arab mission to the moon and is a historic moment in the history of the UAE.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai; Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, and Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, were at the Mission Control Centre inside the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre to witness the historic launch of Rashid Rover.
UAE moon mission
It is the start of a 140-day journey before the Rashid Rover will land on the moon.
Rashid Rover will be delivered by Japanese lunar exploration company ispace via its Hakuto-R Mission 1 lander. The company is also the first to carry our a commercial cargo mission to the Moon.
The Rashid Rover, which weighs 10 kilograms, will fly to the Moon on Mission 1 and will attempt to land on the Moon’s Atlas Crater on the south-eastern outer edge of the Mare Frigoris or Sea of Cold. The lander is expected to reach the Moon in late April.
The four-wheel rover, which was built by a small team of Emiratis at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre in Dubai, will spend a lunar day – equivalent of 14 Earth days – on the Moon’s surface to study its geology and lunar dust. The rover is built to take a carousel of images of the Moon’s surroundings via high-resolution cameras.
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