After launching its mission to Mars successfully, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is prepared to take on its next significant space challenge: touching the Moon. The nation intends to send its initial expedition to the moon in November of this year.
According to a report in the nation’s The National News, the spacecraft, known as Rashid, will be launched between November 9 and 15 from the Cape Canaveral spaceport in Florida.
A Japanese ispace lander will place the probe into lunar orbit in March once it has been launched by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, according to Dr. Hamad Al Marzooqi, the mission manager at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre.
The exact date of the launch will be announced at a later time, officials have said. ‘We’ve finished with the testing of the rover and we are happy with the results. The rover has been integrated with the lander and it is ready for launch,’ Dr. Al Marzooqi said.
The UAE’s larger plan to take a leading role in space exploration includes the lunar expedition. The UAE and Japan would become the fourth country after the US, Russia, and China to land a spacecraft on the moon if the moon mission is successful.
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