UAE launches Rashid Rover, its first lunar spacecraft

The UAE successfully launched its first lunar spacecraft, Rashid Rover, marking itself as the first Arab country to launch its mission to the moon. The rover took off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, aboard the Japanese-built Hakuto-R Mission 1 lander. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will deliver the rover to a lunar transfer orbit in space.

According to The National, the blast-off took place at 11:39 AM UAE time. The launch was rescheduled twice due to technical errors. The launch is a part of the UAE's Emirates Lunar Mission by Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre.

“That was a very exciting launch. We’re very happy that it went according to plan,” Salem Al Marri, Director-General of the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, the organisation behind the rover, told The National.

Named after the former ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Rashid Al Saeed, the rover will land in the Atlas crater in the Mare Frigoris site, located in the far north of the Moon’s near side. It will study the properties of the lunar soil, the petrography and geology of the Moon, dust movement, surface plasma conditions, and the Moon's photoelectron sheath.

The rover will also conduct a material adhesive experiment to find a solution to the highly corrosive and razor-sharp lunar dust particles that remain a concern for scientists and astronauts.