Emirates Lunar Mission: All eyes on the Moon as UAE’s Rashid Rover attempts lunar landing on April 25
Dubai: All eyes will be on the Moon tomorrow as the UAE’s Rashid Rover, the first lunar spacecraft built by an Arab country, is all set to attempt landing on the lunar surface on April 25.
The Emirati-built rover, once landed, 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 ambitious feat will make the UAE the first Arab country and only the fourth country in the world to land on the Moon — after the United States, the former Soviet Union and China. The success rate is fifty percent.
Bigger determination
Salem Humaid Al Marri, director general of Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) in Dubai, the agency behind the Emirates Lunar Mission (ELM), the UAE Astronaut Programme and the Emirates Mars Mission (EMM), on Monday took the opportunity to thank the teams behind the milestone space programmes.
“We start a historic week for the Emirati and Arab space sector. Tomorrow, the 1st Arab mission to the Moon is set to landing with a success rate of 50%. On 28 April, @Astro_Alneyadi will conduct the 1st Arab spacewalk ever. The challenges are big. Our determination is bigger,” Al Marri said in a tweet.
He was referring to the spacewalk by the UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi, who is on the longest Arab space mission on the International Space Station.
“Thank you to the teams of the Emirates Lunar Mission and UAE Astronaut Programme, who are working 24/7 in collaboration with partners to make the missions a success,” Al Marri added.
