UAE's Rashid Rover to explore Moon's 'Sea of Cold', Atlas crater

The UAE will land its Rashid Rover on the moon in the next few months. Named after the late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, former Ruler of Dubai, the 10kg rover will blast off onboard a Space X Falcon 9 rocket from Florida, US.

The UAE President and Vice-President met members of the Emirates Lunar Mission team earlier today.

In a tweet, the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) said the Rashid Rover would land in an unexplored area called ‘Mare Frigoris’ on the moon. Also known as the ‘Sea of Cold’, Mare Frigoris lies in the far lunar north, according to Nasa. A ‘mare’ is a flat, dark plain on the lunar surface.

The UAE Government Media Office said the rover will capture photos and collect information and data from Mare Frigoris, specifically the Atlas crater area. Atlas located on the northeast part of the moon. According to Nasa, the “floor-fractured” crater is 87km in diameter.

Previously, UAE authorities had identified the rover’s primary landing site as Lacus Somniorum, also known as the Lake of Dreams.

The Rashid Rover can withstand extreme temperatures on the lunar surface, which drops to lows of minus 173 degrees Celsius.

The mission will see the rover collect images and information that allows the UAE to study how to build “human settlement on the moon, prepare for future missions to study Mars, and provide the scientific community with answers about the solar system”, the media office said.

Rashid Rover will provide about 10 gigabytes of recorded material, scientific data and new images to the global scientific community. It aims to study the moon's plasma and to provide answers about lunar dust and mobility on its surface.

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