Live broadcast | The launch of the `Rashid` spacecraft in the first Emirati mission to explore the moon

Weather of Arabia - The Emirates Lunar Mission, the first Emirati mission on the moon, is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 11:38 am UAE time on Sunday, December 11th.

The exploration spacecraft "Rashid" will be transported aboard the Japanese company's lunar lander "ispace" during the company's mission 1 as part of its commercial program HAKUTO-R, and the lander will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

Upon the success of the mission, God willing, the UAE will join the ranks of the United States, Russia and China with Japan, which are the only countries that have placed a spacecraft on the surface of the moon.

Here is the live video of the big event, as coverage will start on Sunday at 10:00 am (UAE time):

The flight was scheduled to take off on December 1, but the initial launch attempt of the HAKUTO-R Mission 1 lunar landing vehicle was postponed, and ispace said in a statement issued on December 7, “This allowed SpaceX to conduct additional pre-flight checks for the launch vehicle.” ".

No problems were identified with the probe itself, and the statement added that until today, no major operational changes have been planned, as the landing on the moon is scheduled to take place at the end of April 2023, and the new mission launch date has been pushed forward by 13 days from its original launch date. .

Upon landing, the "Rashid" rover is expected to explore the properties of lunar soil, lunar rocks and geology, dust motion, surface plasma conditions, and the moon's photoelectron envelope.

It is noteworthy that the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center (MBRSC) signed an agreement with the Japanese company ispace, according to which the latter will provide payload delivery services to the UAE lunar mission.

According to the agreement, the Japanese Lunar Exploration Company will deliver the Emirates lunar vehicle "Rashid" to the moon, provide wired communication and power during the flight phase, and engage in radio communications on the surface of the moon.

And if the mission is successful, the United Arab Emirates and Japan together will be the next two countries to succeed in placing a spacecraft on the surface of the moon, after the United States, Russia and China.

"We are benefiting from our advanced scientific and technological center through partnership with international entities that will help create a new space economic scene in the country," said Youssef Hamad Al Shaibani, Director General of the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre.

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