Emirates Lunar Mission

Emirates Lunar Mission
Rendering of the Rashid lunar rover.
Mission typeLunar rover
WebsiteLunar Mission
Mission duration0 days (landing failure)
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftRashid
ManufacturerMBRSC
Dry mass10 kg (22 lb)
Dimensions53.5 cm (21.1 in) × 53.85 cm (21.20 in)
Start of mission
Launch date11 December 2022, 07:38:13 UTC[1]
RocketFalcon 9 Block 5
Launch siteCape Canaveral SLC-40
ContractorSpaceX
Deployed fromispace Hakuto-R
End of mission
Last contact20 April 2023
Landing date25 April 2023, 16:40 UTC (Destroyed on impact)
Landing siteAtlas crater (attempted). 47°34′52″N 44°05′38″E / 47.581°N 44.094°E / 47.581; 44.094
Lunar rover
Landing dateApril 25, 2023
Landing siteAtlas Crater (planned)
Emirates Planetary Programme
← Hope

The Emirates Lunar Mission (Arabic: مشروع الإمارات لاستكشاف القمر) was the first mission to the Moon from the United Arab Emirates.[2]

The mission by Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) sent a lunar rover named Rashid to the Moon aboard ispace's Hakuto-R Mission 1 lander.[1][3] It was launched on 11 December 2022 on a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket,[4] and the rover attempted to land in Atlas crater.[5][6] On 25 April 2023, seconds before an attempted landing, communication with the Hakuto-R lander was lost.[6] The ispace team confirmed that the spacecraft had crashed into the Moon and was thus destroyed.[7][8]

  1. ^ a b Rosenstein, Sawyer (11 December 2022). "SpaceX launches Falcon 9 carrying private Japanese moon lander". NASASpaceFlight. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  2. ^ Abueish, Tamara (29 September 2020). "UAE to launch new Emirati space mission to explore moon: Dubai ruler". Al Arabiya English. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  3. ^ "MBRSC Teams Up with Japan's ispace on Emirates Lunar Mission". ispace. 14 April 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  4. ^ Rosenstein, Sawyer (11 December 2022). "SpaceX launches Falcon 9 carrying private Japanese moon lander". NASASpaceFlight. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  5. ^ "ispace Announces Mission 1 Launch Date". ispace. 17 Nov 2022. Retrieved 17 Nov 2022.
  6. ^ a b Chang, Kenneth (2023-04-25). "Live Updates: A Japanese Company Attempts the 1st Private Moon Landing". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
  7. ^ "Status Update on ispace Hakuto-R Mission 1 Lunar Lander". ispace. Retrieved 2023-04-26.
  8. ^ "Japan Spacecraft Believed to Have Crashed on Moon During Landing". Bloomberg.com. 2023-04-25. Retrieved 2023-04-27.

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