Film ‘Rashid to the Moon’ about UAE lunar rover to be screened on Dec. 10

The Rashid rover is currently safely stored inside the Japanese-made lunar lander Hakuto-R M1 (Mission 1), which will be transported to space on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. On Sunday, December 11, MBRSC will broadcast live the launch from the Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA. The rocket launch was modified three times on November 28, 30 and December 1 following final inspections and adverse weather conditions.

Viewers can access the MBRSC channel for a mission briefing on the first Emirates Moon Mission (ELM) and see all the action at the launch site – culminating in the actual lift-off at 11.38am (UAE time).

Once launched, the integrated spacecraft Hakuto-R M1, which will carry the Rashid rover and other payloads to the moon, will take a low-energy route to the moon rather than a direct approach. That means it will take about five months to land on the moon after launch in April 2023.

According to MBRSC, the Rashid rover will land in the Atlas crater, which is located in Mare Frigoris on the southeastern outer edge of the moon at 47.5°N and 44.4°E. Atlas Crater is 88 kilometers in diameter and was formed between 320 and 3.8 billion years ago.

The Rashid rover will study the characteristics of lunar soil, petrology (the composition and properties of lunar rocks), and lunar geology. It will also take pictures of lunar dust movement, surface plasma conditions and lunar regolith (the layer of surface deposits that cover solid rock). It will help scientists better understand how lunar dust and rocks change on the Moon, and provide new data for the development of new techniques that could be used to reveal the origins of Earth and the solar system.

The success of the UAE’s First Moon Landing Mission (ELM) will make the UAE the first Arab country and one of the first countries in the world to land a spacecraft on the moon after the United States, the former Soviet Union and China.

The Rashid rover is only the first of many UAE missions to the moon. A few months ago, in September, MBRSC signed an agreement with the China National Space Administration (CNSA) to launch joint space programs and future lunar exploration, including sending the next UAE rover on Chang’e-7, which China’s hopeful lunar exploration mission is due to launch in 2026, targeting the lunar south pole.