The UAE is set to join other nations in sending a rover to the moon by the end of 2022. The rover, named Rashid after the late sheikh, will send back pictures of use in planning future missions.
This was revealed during a webinar by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre, one of their partners was ispace. They reported in a Khaleej Times article.
The launch of the Rashid rover was initially postponed until 2024, but MBRSC engineers decided to move the date ahead.
Dr. Hamad Al Marzooqi, Project Manager for Emirates Lunar Mission, said that the Rashid Rover will be sent to the moon’s surface before the deadline in 2024. The initial plan would have been to send it before the end of 2024, but they decided instead to have it ready by 2022.
The current stage for this mission is building a prototype that will resemble a flight model. “This prototype will be tested during the summer to go through qualification testing and a simulated launch,” he said.
Mohamed Bin Zayed said he was happy to meet with members of the Emirates Lunar Mission team. This historic project is further expanding UAE’s contribution to the space sector and enables our people who have knowledge in space-related skills, to serve their country and humanity.
I was pleased to meet with members of the Emirates Lunar Mission team. This historic project is further expanding the UAE’s contribution to the space sector and enabling our people to harness their knowledge and skills to serve their country and humanity. pic.twitter.com/hE9YI0tGYm
— محمد بن زايد (@MohamedBinZayed) June 15, 2022
The Mars 2117 Program Director said that instead of the planned four years, they will spend only three years in the development of the mission and launch it in 2022. The situation with COVID-19 has not delayed the development of the mission.
The COVID-19 virus will not affect the company’s mission, he said. “There are experienced teams from both MBRSC and ispace that will work out solutions.”
The rover will be launched on a Falcon 9 rocket and it weighs just 10kg with four wheels.
Dr. Hamad Al Marzooqi noted that it is a challenge to keep the weight of the equipment under 10kg.
“Designing a small rover is difficult because many instruments are packed inside of it and there isn’t much space,” he said. “There are a lot of technologies, electronics, and other instruments that are housed inside the rover. This creates a really tough design challenge for our engineers. Our engineers must find creative ways to use as little space as possible in the rover with everything that needs to be included. We also need to house these instruments on the mobility system with enough room left over.”
The Rashid Rover is expected to operate for only one lunar day. This project seeks to avoid the cold of the long lunar nights by operating for the equivalent of 14 days on Earth.
According to Al Marzooqi, a “landing site working group” is working with ispace. The designated landing site will be announced soon, but it is new and has not been explored by previous lunar missions.
