Dubai: China has signed an agreement to help the UAE land an exploratory vehicle on the lunar surface. The agreement was signed on Friday by the UAE’s Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center and China’s National Space Administration. This is the first time that the two countries have reached an agreement for cooperation in the field of space. Officials said the agreement lays the foundation for future space opportunities between the two countries.
China has successfully explored the moon. China’s Change-3 spacecraft was the first to land on the moon in 2013. In 2019, a spacecraft was also able to land on the far side of the moon. It is estimated that through cooperation, the lunar exploration vehicle, which will be built by the UAE in the future, will be able to reach its destination easily. This will eliminate the need to build your own lander.
The Rashid rover, the UAE’s first lunar probe, is scheduled to launch this November. The 10 kg rover ‘Rashid’ will be brought to the lunar surface by a Japanese lander named Hakuto-R Mission-1. Imaraty engineers will communicate with the rover through wireless communication services available from the lunar surface. The rover will be launched on a SpaceX Falcon-9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The rover aims to explore the northeastern part of the Moon. The mission will study lunar soil, geology, dust, photoelectron shielding and lunar day. This is the first mission under the country’s long-term lunar exploration programme.