To infinity and beyond…

Eagle-eyed residents may have spotted a change to their network provider name on Friday, December 9 to ‘2TheMoon’. If you did spot you’re probably wondering ‘why?’, well, it’s to support the first Emirati mission to the moon.

After a successful Mission to Mars just last year in February 2021, the UAE is gearing up for the Rashid Moon Rover mission.

The mission has been postponed a number of times over the past month due to weather conditions but a new date has been set for this weekend. The launch of the Rashid Rover will now liftoff to the surface of the moon on Sunday, December 11, 2022 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

The mission will launch at 11.38am UAE time but live coverage begins at 10am. You can watch it on mbrsc.ae/lunar or below.

More about the mission…

The UAE has teamed up with a Japanese lunar exploration company called space which will be responsible for delivering the UAE’s Rashid Rover on its Hakuto-R Mission 1 lander.

The mission will lift off from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Space Launch Complex 40 launch site in Cape Canaveral, Florida. This event is a landmark mission for the UAE and Japan, with ispace on track to becoming the first company that will carry out commercial cargo missions to the moon.

On launch, the FalconX 9 rocket will take the rover to orbit in space and from there the Rashid Rover will make the journey to the moon on its own.

FalconX 9 is set to generate a thrust of more than 771 tones at sea level to blast off into space. We can expect the rover to end its journey and reach the moon by April 2023. The mission hopes to land on the moon’s Atlas crater, which is located on the outer edge of the southeastern area known as Mare Frigoris – which means the sea of cold.

Good luck, UAE!

Images: ispace