The UAE's first lunar mission aims to explore areas no other mission has reached before

Emirates warms up to launch its first lunar mission on Wednesday

photo_camera PHOTO/WAM - - Le Premier ministre des Émirats et dirigeant de Dubaï, Cheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum

 The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) will launch the Rashid Rover probe from the Cape Canaveral Space Station on Wednesday, 30 November, as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) enters the space race to explore the surface of the moon.
 
The launch will take place at 12:39 Emirati time (08:39 GMT), when the rover, integrated with Japan's Mission 1-Hakuto R lander, will set a course for the Earth's satellite on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at the base in Florida, US.
 
"The countdown begins for the nation's long-awaited mission: the Emirates Lunar Mission with which we will make history," MBRSC director general Salem Al Marri said in a statement on the mission's website, which aims to study the lunar surface, its formation, components, thermal and conductive properties.
 
The UAE's first lunar mission aims to travel to "areas that no man-made mission has reached before to explore" and send data and images to "share with all local and international research centres", according to UAE officials.
 
The trip to the moon will take three to four months, after which the rover is expected to land on the lunar surface and carry out its mission "through satellite communications", following orders from the centre's Main Control Room.
 
The rover is expected to land in April 2023, as a low-consumption route has been chosen.
 
Wednesday's launch follows two postponements due to delays in testing the test rover and can be followed live on the MBRSC website at 10:30 am (06:30 GMT).

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