The first Emirati mission to the moon is now scheduled for launch on Thursday, December 1, the UAE’s Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre announced.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket was originally scheduled for launch the spacecraft on November 30, however, MBRSC said previously said the dates could change depending on weather conditions.
As of now, the Rashid Rover will begin its trip to the moon at precisely 12.37 PM UAE time.
Rashid Rover was originally scheduled to take to the skies on November 30, but the operation has been delayed.
In a statement on Twitter, the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre said: “A new launch date is set for the Emirates Lunar Mission tomorrow 1 December at 12:37 PM (UAE time).”
UAE’s 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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