UAE’s Moon rover expected to reach Florida launch site in September

Momentum of UAE's next space mission is building, with lunar rover and lander development near completion

The Hakuto-R Mission 1 lunar lander is delivered to Florida's Cape Canaveral from where it will carry the UAE's Rashid rover to the Moon. Photo: ispace

The Hakuto lander with the Rashid rover stored inside, ready to be shipped to Florida. Photo: ispace

Rashid lunar rover's final prototype. Photo: Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre

An Emirati engineer tested the Moon rover in remote desert areas of Dubai. Photo: Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre

Dr Hamad Al Marzooqi, project manager of the Emirates lunar mission. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Development of the lander nears completion. Photo: ispace

Emirati engineers test parts of the Rashid rover. Photo: Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre

Emirati engineers test parts of the Rashid rover. Photo: Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre

A full Moon gleams above Buenos Aires. AFP

The UAE’s first mission to the Moon is on track for a launch later this year, with the rover expected to arrive at the Florida launch site in September.

Called Rashid, the 10-kilogram rover will be delivered to the lunar surface aboard a Japanese lander called Hakuto-R Mission 1, which is being built by ispace, a private company.

The UAE mission relies heavily on the success of the lander, which will carry the rover to the surface and provide wireless communication services, so Emirati engineers can stay in contact with it.

Together, the entire mission will take off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Centre during a launch window of late September to November.

In April, ispace said that the development of the lander was on schedule, and that it could be shipped to the launch site in the autumn if all goes to plan.

“In January, ispace announced Q4 [the fourth quarter of 2022] as its earliest launch target with assembly and integration targeted for completion before the end of spring,” the company said on its website.

“As we enter Q2 2022, we’re pleased to announce that our development schedule is still on track with that timing.

“If all continues according to plan, we aim to begin final testing by early June, at which time, we will transport our lander from the ArianeGroup facility in Lampoldshausen (Germany) to an IABG facility (a company that tests spacecraft) in Ottobrunn near Munich, Germany for final testing,” ispace said.

“At this pace, we plan to ship our lander to Florida by early autumn for launch preparations.”

The lander’s propulsion system, which helps the spacecraft with manoeuvring and orientation in space, and its structural integration are complete.

Electrical integration work is continuing and engineers have started installing payloads, external sensors and the rover deployment mechanism — the structure that would enable the Rashid rover to descend onto the lunar surface after landing.

The Rashid rover is one of six payloads on board the lander.

Others include a transformable lunar robot by Japan’s space agency Jaxa, a solid-state battery test module by NGK Spark Plug, an artificial intelligence flight computer by Canada’s Mission Control Space Services, cameras by Canada’s Canadensys, and panels engraved with the names of the lander’s crowdfunding supporters.

The rover is still under development at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre in Dubai and is expected to be delivered to ispace this summer.

The rover will explore the north-eastern part of the Moon’s near side, on a site known as the Lacus Somniorum.

The Latin phrase translates to “Lake of Dreams” and is the primary landing site for the UAE’s mission.

Some of the scientific goals behind the mission include studying lunar soil, the geology of the Moon, dust movement and investigating the Moon's photoelectron sheath for one lunar day — about two weeks on Earth.

This will be the first mission under the country’s long-term Moon exploration programme.

Last year, The National reported that the space centre plans to develop multiple rovers and orbiters that will explore the Moon.

The country is also looking to send astronauts to the lunar surface, with talks continuing with Nasa on involvement in the Artemis programme, which aims to build a sustainable human presence on the Moon.