OVER THE MOON UAE TO SEND ROVER IN 2022
The UAE is no longer waiting until 2024 to reach the Moon — its Rashid Rover is now set for liftoff next year. The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre on Wednesday announced that after discussions with the scientists involved in the Emirates’ next big space mission, the lunar rover’s launch has been advanced from 2024 to 2022.
“We had thought of sending the Rashid Rover to the Moon’s surface before the end of 2024. Initially, (2024) was the deadline. But after extensive discussions with ispace, we decided to have the rover ready instead for a 2022 mission,” said Dr Hamad Al Marzooqi, project manager of the Emirates Lunar Mission at the MBRSC.
ispace, a lunar exploration company in Japan, is a key strategic and implementation partner of the MBRSC for the mission. The ‘Rashid’ rover will be transported to the Moon on ispace’s lunar lander during the company’s ‘Mission 1’ in 2022 as part of its commercial programme known as ‘HAKUTO-R’. Under the terms of the agreement, the Japanese company will also provide wired communication and power during the cruise phase, and engage in wireless communication on the lunar surface.
Upon the execution of the mission, the UAE and Japan, together, are anticipated to be the next two nations to successfully put a spacecraft on the lunar surface, following the US, Russia and China.
Currently, the moon mission is working on prototypes that will resemble a flight model. “This prototype will be tested during summer to go through different qualification testing and a simulated launch,” Dr Al Marzooqi said.
The team has been working on the mission non-stop and even when Covid-19 hit, they are confident that the mission will not be delayed. “In fact, now, instead of spending four years, we will be (completing almost) three years in the development of the mission and, hopefully, launch in 2022,” said Adnan AlRais, Mars 2117 programme director of the MBRSC.
The Emirates Lunar Mission is a key part of the UAE’S space exploration strategy, which is centred around building new knowledge capabilities, inspiring future generations to pursue space science and research, and fostering global collaboration.
The Rashid Rover will help scientists better understand how lunar dust and rocks vary across the Moon, Dr Al Marzooqi said.
Takeshi Hakamada, founder and CEO, ispace, said: “We are honoured that MBRSC has entrusted ispace’s lunar payload transportation service to play a key role in carrying out this historic moment for the UAE. The world will be watching as our commercial lander carries the Rashid Rover to the Moon. We’re pleased to advance collaboration between the UAE and Japan in space exploration, as well as to inspire more collaboration for lunar exploration between the public and commercial sector around the world.”
The Rashid Rover is expected to operate for only one lunar day — equivalent to 14 days on Earth — avoiding the cold of the lunar night.
“We have a ‘landing site working group’ and we are working with ispace on that. The landing site has been pinpointed to a specific location and the announcement of that will come soon. This is a new landing site that has not been explored by previous lunar missions,” Al Marzooqi added.
For Rashid Rover, all primary objectives need to be completed by the first Lunar Day. “We have certain objectives to extend our operations to a second lunar day and will attempt to survive the lunar night. But this is only an experimental phase and the main operations will end by the first Lunar Day,” he said.
As governments and companies around the world set their sights on the Moon, fostering public-private partnerships seems to be the way forward. Dr John Walker, chief rover architect of ispace, said: “As the frequency and volume of small rovers traversing the lunar landscape is expected to increase in the coming years, we’re pleased to bring MBRSC’S ‘Rashid’ rover to the Moon to kick start the next phase of lunar surface exploration.”