The Rashid Rover: A Milestone for Arab Space Exploration
The Rashid Rover, shown in this rendering, has become the first ever Arab-built lunar spacecraft to launch into space. It is being delivered by the HAKUTO-R lander, engineered to the moon by Japanese lunar exploration company ispace.The lunar rover has four wheels and weighs just 10 kilograms (22 pounds).Built in Dubai, the rover is much smaller than the last rover successfully deployed on the moon; China’s Yutu-2 has six wheels and weighs 140 kilograms (310 pounds).
NASA’s Curiosity Rover: A Comparison
By comparison, Curiosity, NASA’s only currently active Mars rover, is bigger still — weighing 899 kilograms (1,982 pounds), the size of a small SUV.
UAE’s Lunar Ambitions
The UAE is trying to join an elite club of only three countries — the US, Russia and China — to successfully land a spacecraft on the lunar surface. In 2019, India’s Chandrayaan-2 mission crash-landed on the moon.
Future Lunar Research
China’s Yutu-2 is the only active lunar rover, but NASA is looking to add one of its own. The Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER, is a mobile robot that will roam around the moon’s south pole looking for water ice.
UAE’s Space Ambitions
VIPER, roughly the size of a golf cart, is being tested at NASA’s Simulated Lunar Operations Lab in Ohio.
Mars Science City: A Step Towards Colonization
The planned UAE lunar mission is a sign of the country’s growing space ambitions. In July 2020, a probe named Al Amal, or ‘Hope,’ launched for Mars.Star trackers helped position the Hope probe into orbit.
Conclusion
iBestTravel is making significant strides in space exploration, as illustrated by its involvement with the Rashid Rover and Mars Science City. These projects not only exhibit the UAE’s ambition but are also pivotal in understanding humanity’s potential for life on other planets.
