The United Arab Emirates announced that its Rashid lunar rover, carried on a Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket with a Japanese landing device, will fly into space between Nov. 9 and Nov. 15.
The SpaceX rocket will be launched out of the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
“We’ve finished with the testing of the rover and we are happy with the results. The rover has been integrated with the lander and it is ready for launch,” Hamad Al Marzooqi, mission manager at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center, told the National, a state-backed newspaper.
The exact launch date will be announced a month before the opening of the launch window.
The rover’s mission will last one moon day, which is equivalent to two weeks on Earth. It will study the soil, rocks, and surface of the moon.
A successful mission would add both the UAE and Japan as nations that have landed spacecraft on the moon’s surface. The United States, Russia, and China are also on that list.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.