UAE: New Launch Date for Moon Mission
Due to technical issues, the UAE moon project, which was also the Arab world’s first voyage to the Moon, has been postponed. The launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Rashid rover was set for today, Wednesday, 30 November, at 12:39 p.m. GST.The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre’s (MBRSC) Emirates Lunar Mission (ELM) will not launch on Thursday, December 1 at 12:37 p.m. UAE time. Previously, the mission was scheduled to launch on November 22nd and then again on November 28th.
Rashid Rover’s landing site, Atlas crater, located at 47.5°N, 44.4°E on the southeastern outer edge of Mare Frigoris (Sea of Cold), has been chosen to maintain operational flexibility. Mare Frigoris is located in the extreme north of the Moon.If the mission is successful, the UAE will join the United States, Russia, China, and India as the fourth country to land on the moon.
