Rashid, the first Arab-made lunar rover, was launched on December 11 from the Cape Canaveral Space Center in Florida, USA.
Dubai: The journey of the UAE’s lunar mission Rashid rover has completed one month. Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center (MBRSC) informed that the spacecraft has traveled 13.4 lakh kilometers.
Rashid, the first Arab-made lunar rover, was launched on December 11 from the Cape Canaveral Space Center in Florida, USA.
The Emirates Lunar Mission team communicated with the rover for 220 minutes after launch. The team completed health assessments and maintenance checks of the rover and its subsystems and instruments. The rover was powered on for 10 minutes every day for two weeks after launch. The team currently communicates with the rover once a week.
The team will communicate with the rover for an additional 150 minutes during the four-month cruise phase. After launch, Rashid activated the rover’s subsystems 17 times. These were powered on for 10 minutes for the first two weeks. At present it is run once a week for 10 minutes.
The team is preparing for the phase and surface operations involving the rover’s entry into lunar orbit, followed by descent to the lunar surface and landing. The rover is expected to land on the lunar surface by the end of April. Prior to this, MBRSC will conduct 12 simulated mission rehearsals at the ground station for surface operations.
MBRSC aims to conduct several scientific experiments on the lunar surface using the Rashid rover. Its results are expected to lead to qualitative advancements in the fields of science, communication technologies and robotics.