Dubai (Etihad)
The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center announced the launch of the Emirates project to explore the moon, the first Emirati mission to the surface of the moon, to be no later than November 22, as the launch date will be confirmed later, according to the mission partners.
While the explorer Rashid, made entirely by Emirati hands, will be carried aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, following being placed on board the HAKUTO-R lander, developed by the Japanese company Ispace, from Space Launch Complex 40 in Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, USA, where the flight to the moon will take regarding 3 to 4 months.
On this occasion, Salem Humaid Al Marri, Director General of the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center, said: “The countdown has begun for the Emirates project to explore the moon, the long-awaited mission to be launched, and which is planned not earlier than November 22, when the country will record a new date to join the balance of its achievements. In the space science exploration sector, by launching the explorer Rashid towards the surface of the moon, which will contribute to collecting valuable scientific data and information that serves the scientific community.”
During the approximately twenty days remaining until the launch date, the Emirates project team to explore the moon is working on training their roles through several scenarios operations, which will be carried out by the explorer Rashid following reaching the surface of the moon, which lasted for two days, on the engineering model of the explorer Rashid, as it is one of the Important steps are part of the last preparations for the launch teams and systems towards the moon, scheduled for an approximate date not earlier than November 22.
Dr. Hamad Al Marzouqi, Director of the Emirates Moon Exploration Project, said: “These preparatory operations come with the purpose of preparing the mission team on how to conduct scientific and geological research remotely using the explorer within several scenarios, especially that the engineering model of the explorer used in the operations is similar to the real mission explorer that will be launched on a missile. (SpaceX Falcon 9) this month, as the model succeeded in executing daily orders and tasks sent via satellite communications.”
The project team’s conduct included preparatory operations covering the scenarios of the explorer Rashid’s arrival on the moon’s surface, which included: Removing the arm carrying the camera from the horizontal position to the vertical position, and the success of the mission depends mainly on the implementation of this step. Followed by the process of ejecting the communication antenna, which activates the power and ability of the communication, which is taken out shortly following landing on the moon’s surface, in order to ensure the work of the communication network.
Third process
The third operation involved landing and transporting the explorer to the surface of the Moon, which qualifies the work team for any communication delays that may occur due to the time difference between the Earth and the Moon. The Scenarios team concluded with a final process that included taking pictures during these processes, where the engineers tested the developed camera sequences and validated the processed images. Al Marzouki added: “We have gradually improved our understanding of how the Explorer and Earth systems interact, and our team has perfected the procedures for landing on the Moon. We have also completed these scenario operations, and everything we have learned will help us complete the mission on the Moon.”
