UAE to the Moon: New milestone for Rashid Rover 2 ahead of historic far side Moon landing

Dubai: The UAE's Rashid Rover 2 has passed crucial tests in the US, bringing the nation one step closer to its historic 2026 mission to land on the far side of the Moon.

The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), the Dubai agency behind the mission, successfully conducted a comprehensive series of tests on the rover in the US, marking a significant milestone in the Emirates Lunar Mission's preparations for its groundbreaking journey.

The tests, carried out in collaboration with Firefly Aerospace, included electrical, software, and mechanical interface checks with Firefly's Blue Ghost lander, as well as wireless performance testing between the rover and the lander, MBRS said on Thursday.

The Emirates Lunar Mission team also worked alongside Firefly Aerospace's engineers to perform deployment and drive-off trials, ensuring the successful release of Rashid Rover 2 onto the lunar surface under various scenarios and conditions.

These rigorous assessments represent a crucial step in validating the integration between the rover and Firefly Aerospace's lunar lander, ensuring seamless operations during the journey to the Moon and after the rover's arrival on the lunar surface.

The rover will be deployed to the far side of the Moon aboard Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lander as part of Blue Ghost Mission 2 in 2026. This will be Firefly's second lunar mission following Blue Ghost Mission 1 in March 2025, which achieved the first successful commercial Moon landing.

Alongside payloads from Australia, the European Space Agency (ESA), and NASA, the Rashid Rover 2 will join an international coalition of scientific instruments aimed at advancing our understanding of the Moon's most mysterious region.

The mission builds on extensive preparations that saw the rover complete development following environmental and functional tests conducted in the UAE.

Earlier this year, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of the UAE, and President of MBRSC, witnessed the signing of a strategic agreement between MBRSC and Firefly Aerospace.

The rover had also undergone thermal vacuum testing at the French space agency CNES in Toulouse.

Dr Hamad AlMarzooqi, Project Manager, Emirates Lunar Mission, MBRSC said, "These latest tests mark an important milestone to ensure a seamless integration between the rover and the lander systems. Our joint efforts with Firefly Aerospace are guided by a shared focus on precision and innovation, ensuring the mission's scientific and technical goals are achieved with the highest standards of reliability. Rashid Rover 2 embodies the dedication of our engineers and the UAE's continued drive to contribute to global lunar exploration through purposeful, knowledge-led progress."

The comprehensive testing phase in the UAE included solar panel performance tests, antenna and robotic arm deployment under simulated lunar gravity, and vibration testing at EARTH, a subsidiary of EDGE Group. The vibration tests simulated the mechanical stresses of launch, lunar landing, and touchdown to ensure the rover's resilience throughout its journey.

Once on the Moon, Rashid Rover 2, which has been equipped with multiple cameras and scientific probes, will study its plasma environment, geology, and thermal conditions. The rover will also investigate the properties of lunar soil, surface structure temperatures, and the lunar photoelectron sheath, which will provide valuable insights to support future in-situ resource utilisation and advance further exploration of deep space.

The far side of the Moon, which never faces Earth due to tidal locking, remains one of the least explored regions of the lunar surface. By deploying Rashid Rover 2 to this challenging terrain, the UAE will contribute crucial data to the global scientific community's understanding of lunar geology and environmental conditions.

Farah Zuberi, Director of Spacecraft Mission Management, Firefly Aerospace said, "Firefly is proud to onboard the MBRSC Rashid Rover 2 on Blue Ghost Mission 2, which has evolved into an international mission representing countries across the globe. Now that the rover has been successfully delivered and tested in our cleanroom, we're one step closer to deploying the rover on the lunar surface and unlocking new insights on the far side of the Moon."

The Emirates Lunar Mission is funded by the ICT Fund of the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA), which aims to support research and development in the ICT sector in the UAE.