03:46 PM
Monday 19 September 2022
The United Arab Emirates is preparing to launch a spacecraft to the moon next November, to be the first Arab country to enter the club of space greats.
The National newspaper quoted Hamad Al Marzouqi, director of the Emirates Moon Exploration Project, as saying that the Rashid rover will launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida between November 9 and 15, on board a Falcon 9 rocket, owned by SpaceX.
Rashid is scheduled to land on the moon by a Japanese lander in March 2023.
The moon mission is part of the UAE’s broader strategy to become a major player in space exploration, according to Sky News Arabia.
If the mission is successful, the UAE will join the ranks of the United States, Russia and China, along with Japan, which are the only countries to have put a spacecraft on the moon.
An Emirati satellite is already orbiting Mars to study the atmosphere of the red planet.
The UAE entered into a partnership with the Japanese company, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, to launch this satellite into Mars orbit in February 2021.
The Rashid rover is expected to study the lunar surface and travel there to learn how different surfaces interact with lunar particles.
The vehicle, which weighs 10 kilograms, will carry two high-resolution cameras, a microscope camera, a thermal imaging camera, a probe and other equipment.
The UAE plans to develop the most advanced commercial satellite in the Middle East to produce high-resolution satellite images.