Dubai: The UAE’s first lunar mission ‘Rashid Rover’ will start its flight today, raising the hopes of the Arab world. The Rashid rover was launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 12.39 pm on Wednesday.
The entire Gulf is eagerly awaiting the first lunar mission in the Arab world. A mission that has been postponed several times due to bad weather is regarding to become a reality today. However, at present the weather is expected to be favorable. There is only a four percent chance of rain.
If the launch has to be changed at the last minute, the next time is 12.37 pm on December 1. It is expected that the ‘Rashid’ mission will be completed by April next year. There will be live streaming through various social media pages. The live broadcast can also be viewed through the link www.mbrsc.ae/luna.
Broadcast will start from 10.30 am. The Japanese lander ‘Hakuto-R Mission-1’ has been built by iSpace. This lander will bring ‘Rashidi’ to the lunar surface.
The Rashid Rover was built by engineers at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center in Dubai. Rashid will land on the moon at the Lacus Somniorum, which means Lake of Dreams.
‘Dream Lake’ is the primary landing site and three other sites have been selected for emergency use. The project is named following the late UAE Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum.