Rashid Rover

December 13, 2022

Rashid Rover was launched on December 11 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

What is Rashid Rover?

Rashid Rover, the Arab world’s first lunar rover, is named after late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, former Ruler of Dubai.
This rover will undertake a 3,85,000-kilometre-long journey to reach the lunar surface, making the United Arab Emirates (UAE) the fourth country to land on the Moon.
This four-wheeled rover weighs just 10 kg. It was built by engineers from the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) as part of a project that was launched in 2017.
The destination of the rover is the Atlas crater in the Mare Frigoris site on the Moon’s near side (the one facing the Earth).
It is equipped with two high-resolution cameras, a microscopic camera to capture the minute details, and a thermal imaging camera.
The rover will also carry a Langmuir probe, which will study the Moon’s plasma and attempt to explain the reason behind the stickiness of the Moon’s dust.
Rashid rover will study the lunar surface, mobility on the surface of the Moon and how different surfaces interact with the lunar particles.

About HAKUTO-R lander

The Rashid Rover is currently hitchhiking on the HAKUTO-R lander, which was developed by Japan-based ispace Inc. Since the United Arab Emirates does not plan to build an indigenous lander, it had entered into a contract with the Japanese company ispace for a lunar landing. The Emirates Lunar Mission will mark the first lunar landing for Hakuto-R, which had been under development for the past one decade. The lander is equipped with a propulsion and a navigation system, which will help guide the landing process.

What is a Langmuir probe?

The Langmuir probe is a device used for determining the temperature, electron density, and electronic potential of a plasma. This device is used to determine the physical properties of the plasma.

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