China and UAE to cooperate on future lunar rover missions

The United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) fledgling space program has become a new ally in the lunar race, partnering with China to help it land a rover on the lunar surface. new partnerships, First space sector agreement between two countries, highlights Their respective lunar ambition.

Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) sign the agreement A partnership with the China National Space Administration on Friday paved the way for future cooperation on lunar missions between the two countries. The agreement stipulates that the UAE will work with China to land its rover on the moon as part of the upcoming UAE lunar mission.

China has some moon landing experience China’s lunar exploration program.The Chang’e-3 lunar lander landed on the moon in 2013 and its successors, Chang’e-4, Landing on the back of the moon in 2019, Chang’e 5 not only landed on the moon, Samples returned from the lunar surface Arrived on Earth in December 2020.

TonIn contrast, the UAE A bit new to space games.The wealthy Gulf state has launched Mars Hope Rover July 2020, February 2021 into orbit around the Red Planet. Going to Mars is a big gamble; UAE has previously sent satellite to low earth orbit But a mission of this magnitude has never been done before attempted by the Arab countries. However, the UAE leaders seem Determined to enter from the United States, Europe, China, and Russia because they Work diversify the country Oil-rich economies.

The UAE now has its sights set on the moon and plans to launch an Emirates lunar mission on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in November.The goal Mission is Land a rover named Rashid on a site called Lacus Somniorum, which means “Lake of Dreams” in Latin. The Japanese lander Hakuto-R Mission 1 will bring the rover to the lunar surface.Details of the recent deal with China have not been disclosed, so it is unclear what exactly is in the country The role will be to land Rashid on the near side of the moon.

UAE and China both want to land its nationals on the moon.UAE is one of the first countries to sign the agreement Artemis ProtocolA series of bilateral agreements between the United States and its international partners NASA’s Artemis Program. Artemis program hopes to land astronauts on the moon no earlier than 2025 And establish a human presence on the lunar surface.

NASA hasThe main contents of China’s lunar landing plan, including two lunar landing plans Hope to land on the south pole of the moon Explore possible resources such as ice-water trapped below surface.The space race between the U.S. and China is undoubtedly heating up, with NASA struggling to meet deadlines for the manned Artemis 3 mission, and China claims to send its astronauts to the moon by 2030.

With the UAE’s recent deal with China, it’s hard to see where the Gulf state will land in terms of the ongoing race for the moon. The UAE can either stick to its Artemis Accord partners, including Canada, France and Saudi Arabia, or build on new relationships with partners to help it land a rover on the moon.

more: What to Know About the Lunar Gateway, NASA’s Future Lunar Orbiting Space Station