Story: UAE Moon mission to continue with Rashid Rover 2 announced 2023; 27-04-2023;
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum announces Moon mission to continue with Rashid Rover 2 announced 2023.
UAE: His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has announced UAE will continue its efforts to achieve successful Moon landing and has announced project to built another rover, which would be called Rashid 2.
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The announcement came just a day after UAE's first attempt to land on the Lunar surface failed due to lunar lander losing the communication with the ground team.
Japanese startup ispace was responsible for the landing on the Moon of UAE's Rover named Rashid, and the rover was being carried by the Hakuto-R Mission 1 spacecraft. The spacecraft at the time of touch down lost contact with the ground team and since then the mission became unsuccessful and the Rashid Rover is believed, likely crashed on the lunar surface.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed said:
“The mission of the spacecraft carrying the explorer Rashid did not succeed in landing on the surface of the moon. However, we succeeded in raising the ceiling of our ambitions to reach the moon.”
“And we succeeded in creating a team of our young men and women capable of managing advanced space projects.”
“We succeeded in building a space sector from scratch within 10 years.”
“Today, explorer Rashid 1 is on the surface of the moon, carrying the flag of the Emirates.”
“From today, work will begin on Rashid 2, a new explorer, for a new attempt to reach the moon.”
“We are a country founded on ambition. We are a country that has not stopped since December 2, 1971. It will not stop. It will not turn around. It will not set small goals for itself.”
“The next is more beautiful, greater and more daring, God willing,” he tweeted.
On Wednesday, the Dubai Ruler visited the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), where the rover was built by an all-Emirati team. He has directed the team to immediately start implementing the Rashid 2 project, a new attempt to land a rover on the Moon, according to reports.
Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, was with Sheikh Mohammed during the visit.
Ispace said:
Ispace announced that there is a high probability that the spacecraft eventually made a hard landing on the Moon's surface.
Story: UAE Moon mission; 26-04-2023;
UAE could not achieve the successful Moon landing at first attempt, as Moon lander carrying Rashid Rover, lost connection with ground team, touchdown cannot be confirmed.
Last updated: 1:07am (IST) or 7:37pm (GMT.)
"We have to assume that we could not complete the landing on the lunar surface": Japanese startup ispace.
Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center conformed the news with a tweet earlier, that ispace Japanese firm behind the Hakuto-R lander carrying Rashid Rover, has lost communication with the ground team.
Engineers and mission operations specialists are currently working to confirm the current status of the lander.
• UAE Moon mission: No contact with lander carrying Rashid Rover; touchdown cannot be confirmed, as japanese firm loses contact with lander holding Rashid Rover.
• ispace mission control centre announces that it continues to investigate on the HAKUTO-R lander communication.
• UAE's Rashid Rover now minutes away from Moon-landing.
UAE will be the fourth country to have ever landed a lunar rover on the Moon successfully?
• The rover — proudly designed and built by an all-Emirati team of engineers and experts — is finally reaching its destination after an epic journey of over 135 days.
The UAE is leading the Arab world to make history as it attempts to put the Emirati lunar Rover, named Rashid, to the Moon.
The world's first Arab-built lunar rover is all set to make its landing on the moon surface today. If the lunar rover lands successfully on the surface of the Moon, this will make UAE the fourth country to have ever achieved the milestone, in the space travel.
The three other nations who have in past landed their rover on the moon includes, erstwhile Soviet Union, USA, and China.
When and where it would land:
According to a report by khaleejtimes a UAE based English daily, the Rashid Rover to land on the Moon surface today at UAE's local time 8.40pm, if all goes to plan, ispace’s Hakuto-R Mission 1 lander will start its descent towards the lunar surface at around 7.40pm UAE time (landing time 8.40pm).
The rover would land on Atlas crater, located at 47.5°N, 44.4°E, on the southeastern outer edge of Mare Frigoris (“Sea of Cold”), chosen to maintain flexibility during operations.
Success rate and other lunar mission in recent past:
According to experts, the lander has only 50% chances of a successful landing, as landing on the Moon is a very challenging task. In six decades, only three other countries managed to land on the Moon successfully.
India, China, Israel have all failed in recent year to successfully land a lunar rover on the Moon surface or to establish a working connection, or in China's case bring back the lunar rover back to earth.
India's 2019 Moon mission failed due to hard landing on the lunar surface and was unable to communicate with the ground. The orbiter, however, is still operational and conducting scientific observations according to the authorities. The lander was called Vikram.
Israel’s mission in 2019 also failed, as the spacecraft crashed into the Moon's surface during its landing attempt due to a malfunctioning of the main engine, caused by a technical issue.
Chang'e-5 T1, China’s mission in October 2014 was a test flight for China's Chang'e-5 lunar sample return mission, but the spacecraft was apparently unable to return to Earth due to a malfunction in its propulsion system.
Brief history about the lunar mission:
UAE launched the Rashid Rover on December 11, 2022, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
The lander was designed by Japanese company ispace, and was lifted off atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, made by US spacecraft maker SpaceX.
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