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The trade magazine “Nature”, the world’s most prominent scientific periodical, shed light on the UAE’s plans for outer space, in particular its ambitious intention with its eyes on the moon, titled “UAE Intensifies Space Ambitions With First Lunar Mission To Arab World”, Along With Orbiter “Probe Of Hope” On Path To Mars.
The scientific journal pointed out that the announcement of a compact rover called “Rashid” to be sent to study the moon in 2024 reflects the UAE’s heightened ambitions in the space realm, and if it succeeds, the The UAE Space Agency will become the fifth in the ranking of countries that successfully place a vehicle on the moon’s surface, in addition to being It will be the first in the Arab world.
According to the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center, internal teams at the center will develop, build and operate the 10-kilogram vehicle, named after the late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, may God rest his soul.
The center team will employ a space agency or a business partner that has not yet been announced, to undertake the launch and landing operation, which is the most dangerous part of the “Rashid” mission, which takes place. wants one of the many roving vehicles manufactured by private companies and space agencies, which are scheduled. Conquer the moon by 2024, according to “Nature”.
Scientific studies
The UAE’s march to space is somewhat recent, for a country with 14 years of space exploration experience, which this year launched the first interplanetary orbiter on a journey to the red planet Mars, and scientists say building a rover presents the country with a whole new set of challenges.
To take the scientific reaction from the global side, said Hannah Sargent, a planetary scientist at the Open University of Milton Keynes in the UK: “I think they are about to take steps that they can take to at this point, and in fact they’re very smart about it. “
The Emirati Lunar Module experience will include studying the thermal properties of the moon’s surface and insight into the makeup of the lunar landscape. The director of the mission project at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center, Hamad Al Marzouqi, said the experiment would study the size of the formations and the size of moon dust particles in microscopic detail.
The famous science magazine noted that one of the most exciting tools in “Rashid” is the “Langmuir” probe, according to Sargent. For the first time on the surface of the Moon, the plasma of charged particles that hover on the surface of the Moon due to the flow of the solar wind will be studied, and this environment electrically charges the dust in an incomprehensible process. Many.
The planetary scientist added that experiments carried out on the moon’s surface to understand the charged environment are very necessary as conditions cause moon dust to adhere to surfaces, which can be dangerous for future manned missions, saying, ‘These are little sharp granules that reach and stick all over the place and can have a dangerous impact. Astronauts should inhale a lot.
According to the plans studied, “Rashid” will land in an unexplored location, at a latitude between 45 degrees north or south of the equator on the near side of the moon, which will allow easier communication with Earth, as well as ‘a smoother landing on the moon’s surface.
Task
The mission continues through either a lunar day or a day on the moon, which equates to about 14 Earth days, and the team is hoping the vehicle will continue to operate during the long lunar night as the temperatures drop to around -173 degrees Celsius, and most previous roving vehicles carried a heat source. Surviving or working overnight would mean developing new technology for a mobile compact vehicle.
According to Adnan Al Rayes, director of< programme Mars 2117 >> at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center, which also includes exploration of the moon. Although the mission’s budget< Rashid >> has not yet been disclosed, Al Rayes has made it clear that all scientific data will be publicly available to the international community.
Face the challenges
Al Rayyes said the UAE’s lunar mission is the first in a series of missions that aim to be a platform for technology development, and the technologies will ultimately support missions to Mars and address security challenges. food, energy and water, because natural resources can also be scarce.
For her part, Sarah Al-Maeeni, engineer in a communication system in the vehicle “Rashid”, said the mission is a challenge, but as we all know, “we love challenges here in the UAE”.
The UAE’s light lunar module also means it can be launched onto a commercial landing craft, in a move that helps reduce the overall cost of the mission.
Hamad Al-Marzouqi stressed that the vehicle’s small size and lightness meant “that it grows quickly and it is easy to find an elevator or a way to reach the surface of the moon,” adding that it would allow the UAE to send frequent missions to the surface of the moon with a variety of sights and targets.
International partnerships
“Nature” magazine mentioned that the Emirates space agency is estimated to be only 6 years old, and its satellite program is only around 14 years old, but that it quickly became a country in the field. space thanks to a policy of recruiting international university and industrial partners to help build and design Missions, with highly effective training of local engineers.
Although the UAE now has experience in satellites, orbit and remote sensing, the next robotic mission to the moon will require new skills in building the mechanical structure of the vehicle and its heating systems and communication, and Sarah Al Mueini says that the challenge especially lies in sending signals across 384,000 kilometers from Earth with limited power for a light vehicle.
As part of the preparations for the project, the rover team at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center have been working on the project for about two years. The vehicle has been designed based on a number of previous successful probes, and the team plans to model and refine a series of rapid prototypes.
Unlike the “Probe of Hope” mission to Mars, which was established to a large extent in the United States by American and Emirati engineers, Al-Marzouki claims that the lunar module will be fully developed in the UAE, with relevant international partnerships. .
For his part, Al-Rayyes explained that although the date of the mission in 2024 coincides with the return of Artemis or the international human being led by “NASA” to the moon, the UAE’s lunar mission will continue. even if these efforts stop, the UAE movement is therefore completely independent. While Hamad Al Marzouki said: “Everyone is rushing to go to the moon, so we want to be major contributors to these international efforts.”
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