Launch date, landing site of Rashid Rover announced
Image Credit: Supplied
Dubai: UAE-made Rashid Rover is set to be launched to the moon on November 28 – at the earliest – at 12.46pm (UAE time), and is expected to land on the moon by March 2023, the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) announced on Thursday.
MBRSC also confirmed the Atlas crater called Mare Frigoris (Sea of Cold), located at 47.5°N, 44.4°E on the moon’s southeastern outer edge, as the rover’s landing site.
MBRSC added the date and time are subject to change, depending on weather and other conditions at launch; and the landing site was chosen “to maintain flexibility during operations”.
Multiple contingencies
“The primary landing site was chosen along with multiple contingencies, which may be used depending on variables that occur during transit. The site meets the technical specifications of the lander technology demonstration mission and the scientific exploration objectives for the ELM mission,” MBRSC said in a statement.
Rashid Rover will explore the characteristics of lunar soil, the petrography and geology of the moon, dust movement, surface plasma conditions, and the moon’s photoelectron sheath.
“The novel discovery within the unexplored lunar site is one of the many reasons why the Emirates Lunar Mission is one of the most anticipated moon missions,” MBRSC noted.
Ready for launch
Early this week, MBRSC director general Salem Al Marri has tweeted that a team from MBRSC are already at Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral, Florida for the launch of Rashid Rover.
The Emirati lunar rover will be delivered to the lunar surface by Japanese lander Hakuto-R M1, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that will lift off from Cape Canaveral.
MBRSC said the integrated launch vehicle is within the premises of Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, and will be moved to the launch pad closer to the launch date.
Landing date
According to ispace, the integrated spacecraft will take a low-energy route to the moon rather than a direct approach, which means the landing will take about five months after launch, in March 2023.
