What is Rashid Rover?

About Arab-Built Lunar Spacecraft:

• It was launched from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
• The Rashid Rover named after the late Sheikh Rashid Al Saeed, the former ruler of Dubai.

Development:

• The Rashid Rover was built by Dubai’s Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and is being delivered by the HAKUTO-R lander, engineered by Japanese lunar exploration company ispace.

Landing:

• The mission is taking a low energy route to the moon and is due to arrive around April 2023.
• If the landing is successful, HAKUTO-R will also become the first commercial spacecraft ever to make a controlled landing on the moon.
• Scheduled to touch down in the Atlas crater the northeast part of the moon, the rover has been designed to withstand the lunar night, when temperatures can reach as low as -183°C, or -297.4°F.

Study:

• It will analyze the plasma on the lunar surface and conduct experiments to understand more about lunar dust.
• Razor-sharp lunar dust particles can stick to and erode spacesuits and equipment, causing operational problems for astronauts.

 

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Q1) What is the Hakuto-R Mission?

Hakuto-R Mission1 (Hakuto-R M1) is a Japanese lunar landing mission. It is primarily a technology demonstration lander built by ispace, inc., and will carry commercial and government payloads, including two lunar rovers -Rashid and the Japanese Lunar Excursion Vehicle.

Source: All India Radio