Rashid Rover

Rashid Rover was launched on December 11 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

What is Rashid Rover?

  • Rashid Rover, the Arab world’s first lunar rover, is named after late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, former Ruler of Dubai.
  • This rover will undertake a 3,85,000-kilometre-long journey to reach the lunar surface, making the United Arab Emirates (UAE) the fourth country to land on the Moon.
  • This four-wheeled rover weighs just 10 kg. It was built by engineers from the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) as part of a project that was launched in 2017.
  • The destination of the rover is the Atlas crater in the Mare Frigoris site on the Moon’s near side (the one facing the Earth).
  • It is equipped with two high-resolution cameras, a microscopic camera to capture the minute details, and a thermal imaging camera.
  • The rover will also carry a Langmuir probe, which will study the Moon’s plasma and attempt to explain the reason behind the stickiness of the Moon’s dust.
  • Rashid rover will study the lunar surface, mobility on the surface of the Moon and how different surfaces interact with the lunar particles.

About HAKUTO-R lander

The Rashid Rover is currently hitchhiking on the HAKUTO-R lander, which was developed by Japan-based ispace Inc. Since the United Arab Emirates does not plan to build an indigenous lander, it had entered into a contract with the Japanese company ispace for a lunar landing. The Emirates Lunar Mission will mark the first lunar landing for Hakuto-R, which had been under development for the past one decade. The lander is equipped with a propulsion and a navigation system, which will help guide the landing process.

What is a Langmuir probe?

The Langmuir probe is a device used for determining the temperature, electron density, and electronic potential of a plasma. This device is used to determine the physical properties of the plasma.


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