The Emirates Lunar Mission ( ar, مشروع الإمارات لاستكشاف القمر) is the first mission to the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width ...

from the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at ...

. The mission by Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) is sending a

lunar rover A lunar rover or Moon rover is a space exploration vehicle designed to move across the surface of the Moon. The Apollo Program's Lunar Roving Vehicle was driven on the Moon by members of three American crews, Apollo 15, 16, and 17. Other rov ...

named ''Rashid'' to the Moon aboard ispace's Hakuto-R Mission 1 lander. It was launched on 11 December 2022 on a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket, and the rover will land in Atlas crater. ''Rashid'' will be equipped with two high-resolution cameras, a microscopic camera to capture small details, and a thermal imaging camera. The rover will also carry a Langmuir probe, designed to study the Moon's plasma and will attempt to explain why Moon dust is so sticky. The rover will study the lunar surface, mobility on the Moon’s surface and how different surfaces interact with lunar particles.

Overview

The mission's initial timeline was to send the rover by 2024. On 14 April 2021, MBRSC announced that the schedule had been moved up to send the rover to the Moon by 2022, rather than 2024. The rover is named ''Rashid'' in honor of Dubai's late ruler Sheikh

Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum ( ar, ٱلـشَّـيْـخ رَاشِـد بِـن سَـعِـيْـد آل مَـكْـتُـوْم, Ash-Shaykh Rāshid bin Sa`īd Āl Maktūm; 11 June 1912 – 7 October 1990) was the vice president ...

, who was responsible for the transformation of Dubai from a small cluster of settlements near the

Dubai Creek Dubai Creek ( ar, خور دبي, Khūr Dubay) has been described as a natural Seawater, saltwater creek (tidal), creek, tidal inlet, and watercourse or waterway in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). It extends about inwards and forms a natural p ...

to a modern port city and commercial hub. The rover will be built in MBRSC in Dubai by Emiratis, making it the first Arab country to send a mission to the Moon.

HAKUTO-R lander

As the United Arab Emirates does not plan to build its own lander, it has contracted with the Japanese company ispace for a lunar landing. The Emirates Lunar Mission will be the first Moon trip for Hakuto-R, which ispace has been developing for more than a decade. The company, which was established in 2010, managed Team Hakuto, one of the five finalists in the Google Lunar X Prize. The private race to the Moon ended in 2018 without a winner.

References

{{2022 in space Space probes launched in 2022 2022 in the United Arab Emirates Space program of the United Arab Emirates Missions to the Moon Lunar rovers Space probes launched in 2022