The UAE is set to launch its first Emirati mission to the Moon on Sunday, December 11, 2022, at 2.38 AM Eastern US Time or 11:38 AM UAE time, depending on weather conditions.
The initial launch attempt was postponed, allowing SpaceX to perform additional pre-flight checks of the launch vehicle, the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) said in a statement on Wednesday.
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 mission is set for lift off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Space Launch Complex 40 launch site located at Cape Canaveral, Florida.
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.
The Emirati engineers working on the mission are currently in Florida, preparing ahead of the launch.
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