In a mission that is the first in the Arab world and the fourth in the world, Emirati space explorer Rashid went to the moon on Sunday on a five-month journey.
Emirati space explorer Rashid is due to land on the Moon in April 2023. Researcher Rashid carries the Japanese lander Hakuto-R aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle, so the UAE will register a new achievement in the space industry, “the first mission in the Arab world.”
The duration of the science mission is one lunar day, equivalent to 14 days on Earth, and the spacecraft will choose a low-energy path to the Moon rather than a direct rendezvous. The first attempt has already been delayed, allowing SpaceX to conduct additional checks before launching the spacecraft. And the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center announced that the launch date for the Emirates lunar exploration project was November 28, before it was postponed.
The landing site of Explorer Rashid will be at Atlas Crater, located at 47.5 degrees north latitude and 44.4 degrees east longitude on the southeastern outer edge of the Mare Frigoris region, or the so-called “Cold Sea”, located in the far north of the Moon. According to WAM, the area was chosen “to provide flexibility during the completion of the mission’s operations.”
The landing site was also chosen to take into account the many emergency situations that can be used depending on the variables encountered during transport, as the site is consistent with the technical characteristics and scientific objectives of the Emirates lunar exploration project.
what will he do?
Explorer Rashid, as soon as he lands, will study the characteristics of the soil on the surface of the Moon, the rocks and the geology of the Moon.
He will also see the movement of dust, plasma and photoelectrons, all of which are new discoveries in this area of the Moon.
Atlas Crater is a site that has not been explored by any spacecraft or even by previous manned missions, making the Emirates lunar exploration project “one of the most important missions to come.”
