UAE’s Rashid rover to land on moon next year

MBRSC TO BEGIN TESTING PROTOTYPE FROM SEPTEMBER

Rashid, an Emiratimade lunar rover, will be launched next year two years earlier than planned.

The announcement was made yesterday by the Mohammad Bin Rashid Space Centre and ispace, a Japanese private lunar robotic exploration company that will transport Rashid, named after Shaikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, to the moon in its lander.

More than 50 per cent of the prototype’s components are ready and testing will start in a few months. The project marks another first for the UAE, making it the first trip to the Moon by an Arab country.

Emirati-made lunar rover Rashid will be placed on the moon’s surface by a lander developed by ispace, a Japanese private lunar robotic exploration company.

Rashid will be launched in 2022, two years earlier than planned, the Mohammad Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) announced in a press briefing yesterday.

Takeshi Hakamada, founder and CEO of ispace, said that the lander Hakuto-R, which will carry Rashid, will be launched into space aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

UAE-Japan space pact

Rashid is named after Shaikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the builder of modern Dubai and one of the UAE’s founding fathers. The collaboration with ispace is part of a UAE-Japan agreement on space exploration.

MBRSC said it selected ispace based on its technological credibility after condidering competing lunar payload delivery service providers.

“This cooperation with ispace is yet another exemplification of MBRSC’s unique ability to tap into the best of the global space value chain through strategic collaborations with key partners,” Yousuf Hamad Al Shaibani, MBRSC directorgeneral, said.

Prototype testing this year

Dr Hamad Al Marzouqi, project manager of the Emirates Lunar Mission at MBRSC, said more than 50 per cent of the prototype’s components are ready and testing will start in a few months. “From September to March [next year], we should finish development and testing of the flight model. The rover will be ready for launch by next year,” he said.

Adnan Al Rais, Mars 2117 programme manager and senior director of the remote sensing department at MBRSC, said: “The Emirates Lunar Mission represents a milestone in the UAE’s space sector as the mission will contribute towards providing valuable data and information relating to the moon that will serve the global scientific community as well as test capabilities that would be crucial for manned missions to Mars.”

From September to March, we should finish development and testing of the flight model and the rover will be ready for launch by next year.”

Why the mission is historic

This will not only be the first lunar mission from the Arab world, but will also make the UAE only the fourth country in the world to land on the moon after the US, the former Soviet Union and China.

“We are leveraging our advanced scientific and technological hub by partnering with international entities that will aid in creating a new space economy landscape,” Al Shaibani said. “Our mission is to be at the forefront of scientific achievements that will change the face of humanity.”

Dr Hamad Al Marzouqi | Project manager