The launch was at 11.38am UAE local time
Abu Dhabi: UAE’s first lunar mission Rashid rover successfully launched. The launch was at 11.38 am local time. The rover was launched from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida using the Falcon 9 rocket of the American private space company SpaceX.
The launch of Rashid Rover was postponed four times earlier. It was initially announced that the rover would be launched on November 22. Then the launch was shifted to 28th, 30th and 1st December. This was for further testing of the launch vehicle.
The Rashid rover’s journey to the moon will take about five months. This is because the probe is taking a low-energy path instead of approaching the moon directly. The rover will be landed on the lunar surface using the Mission 1 Hakuto R lander developed by Japanese company ISpace Inc. The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center (MBRSC) hopes that the landing will be possible in April.
The primary objective of the Rashid rover mission is to study the lunar plasma, lunar dust, lunar surface, lunar surface dynamics, and how different surfaces interact with lunar particles. The 10-kilogram rover is equipped with two high-resolution cameras, a microscopic camera, a thermal imaging camera and a probe, among other instruments.
The lunar mission is part of the UAE’s broader strategy for a dominant position in space exploration. The rover will spend one lunar day (14 Earth days) studying the lunar surface. If the mission succeeds, the UAE and Japan will join the US, Russia and China in the list of countries that have landed a spacecraft on the lunar surface. If the launch is successful, it will be the first cargo mission to the Moon.