New date for UAE's Rashid Rover mission launch set for December 1

The launch of Emirati-made Rashid Rover has been delayed to December 1, it was announced on Wednesday.

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket was originally set to launch the spacecraft to the Moon today (November 30), at 12.39pm (UAE time) aboard a Japanese-made lunar lander from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, US.

Only three nations — United States, the Soviet Union and China — have successfully landed their spacecraft on the moon.

Rashid Rover is currently safely stored inside Japanese-made lunar lander Hakuto-R M1 (mission 1), which will be carried to space by SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

Where to watch the launch

The historic launch of the Rashid Rover to the Moon will be streamed live by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), beginning at 10.30am (UAE time).

Viewers can visit MBRSC channel (www.mbrsc.ae/lunar) to watch mission briefings from the first Emirates Lunar Mission (ELM) and catch all the action from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, USA — culminating in the actual lift-off at 12.39pm (UAE time).

Once launched, the Rashid Rover will study the characteristics of lunar soil, the petrography (composition and properties of lunar rocks) and geology of the Moon. It will also take photos of the moon’s dust movement, surface plasma conditions, and the lunar regolith (blanket of superficial deposits covering solid rocks).

Rashid Rover will help scientists better understand how lunar dust and rocks vary across the Moon. It will also provide fresh data for the development of new technologies that can be used to unravel the origins of the Earth and our solar system.

The success of the first Emirates Lunar Mission (ELM) will make the UAE the first Arab country and among the first countries in the world to land a spacecraft on the Moon, after the United States, former Soviet Union and China.