United Arab Emirates plans to launch its first lunar rover in November

(ORDO NEWS) — Hamad Al Marzouki told The National that the Rashid rover, named after Dubai’s ruling family, will be launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida between November 9 and 15. The exact date will be announced next month.

The lunokhod is due to be launched aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and delivered to the moon by Japan’s ispace spacecraft in March.

“We have finished testing the rover and we are happy with the results,” said Al Marzouki. “The lunar rover is integrated with the lander and is ready for launch.”

The lunar mission is part of the UAE’s strategy to become a bigger player in space exploration. Already, the United Arab Emirates satellite is in orbit around Mars, which is studying the atmosphere of the Red Planet.

The Emirates, in partnership with the Japanese company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, launched this probe into Mars orbit in February 2021.

The Rashid rover is expected to study the lunar surface and how different surfaces interact with lunar particles.

The 10 kg rover will carry two high resolution cameras, a microscopic camera, a thermal imaging camera and other devices.

The UAE plans to develop the most advanced commercial satellite in the Middle East for high resolution satellite imagery. Emirates has also set itself the ambitious goal of establishing a human colony on Mars by 2117.

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