That’s not the Moon, it’s Planet Earth: First images from lander carrying UAE’s Rashid Rover released

That’s not the Moon, it’s Planet Earth: First images from lander carrying UAE’s Rashid Rover released

The images are considered a major milestone from a technological standpoint

By Web Desk Published: Wed 14 Dec 2022, 5:38 PM Last updated: Wed 14 Dec 2022, 6:06 PM

ispace, a global lunar exploration company, announced on Wednesday that it has successfully taken images and transmitted them to the Hakuto-R Mission Control Centre (MCC).

ispace's camera, located on top of the lander, will continue to record images throughout the mission. The lander continues to maintain a stable attitude and power supply.

The images are considered a major milestone from a technological standpoint. In addition to the in-house development of an optical camera that can withstand the space environment, many of the lander's own technological elements were also involved in the acquisition of this image data, including attitude control to aim the camera at the target and communications to transmit the image data to Earth.

ispace is the payload delivery service for UAE's ambitious Emirates Lunar Mission, under which the Rashid rover is being transported to the Moon on the lander.

During its mission, the Lunar Rover will conduct numerous scientific tests on the surface of the Moon that will contribute to making qualitative developments in the fields of science, communication technologies, and robotics. Furthermore, the impact