Emirates Lunar Mission: UAE’s Rashid Rover’s target time to land on Moon announced

Emirates Lunar Mission: UAE’s Rashid Rover’s target time to land on Moon announced

Dubai: The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) today announced the target time of Moon landing for the Japanese lander carrying the Rashid Rover of the UAE’s Emirates Lunar Mission. MBRSC took to social media to announce that the landing date and time of the HAKUTO-R lander, carrying aboard the Rashid Rover, on the surface of the Moon, is set for April 25 at 8.40pm (UAE time). “The date is subject to change depending on the mission’s operations. Alternative landing dates are 26 April, May 1, and 3 May,” MBRSC added. On March 6, Gulf News had first reported the target date for the lunar landing of the first Emirati rover as April 25. Salem Humaid Al Marri, director-general of the MBRSC, had revealed this at a Plenary Session during the inaugural day of the 17th International Conference on Space Operations (SpaceOps 2023) in Dubai. On March 21, MBRSC announced the successful lunar orbit insertion by Rashid Rover. “The iSpace lander carrying the Rashid Rover performed its first lunar orbit insertion manoeuvre in accordance with the mission operation plan, at 5.24am UAE time on March 21, under the direction of lander engineers,” MBRSC said. After a controlled burn from the