The first Arab-built moon rover was launched by SpaceX, allowing the United Arab Emirates to reach a new milestone in the rising space industry.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off on Sunday, Dec. 11, from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

In this latest aerospace mission, the Falcon 9 rocket carried the Rashid Rover into space. Thanks to this, the Arab-built lunar robotic vehicle is on its way to its destination.

First Arab-Built Moon Rover Launched by SpaceX!

According to CNN's latest report, the new Rashid Rover was designed and built by Dubai's MBRSC (Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center).

Also Read: SpaceX is Launching Falcon 9 Rocket Carrying 40 OneWeb Satellites on Dec. 8

As of writing, the moon rover is on the HAKUTO-R lander, which was engineered by ispace, the Japanese lunar exploration company.

If the HAKUTO-R successfully delivers the Arab-built lunar rover, the rocket will also be the first commercial spacecraft to land on the Earth's natural satellite.

The Rashid Rover is expected to reach the moon's surface around April 2023. Once it is there, it will spend one lunar day or more than 14 Earth days.

It will specifically land on the Atlas crater, which is in the northeast part of the moon.

About Rashid Rover

The first Arab-built lunar rover is expected to withstand the very cold temperature of the moon. 

This is because it was designed to function in low temperatures, as low as -183 degrees Celsius. 

Once it's on the moon's surface, the rover will conduct important science experiments for UAE. 

These include studying the lunar soil properties, dust movement, the moon's petrography and geology. 

The Rashid Rover will also observe the surface plasma conditions of the lunar body and its photoelectron sheath, as reported by the National News. 

Of course, the new lunar robotic vehicle is also expected to take photos of the moon since it is integrated with two cameras. 

If you want to learn more details about the new Rashid Rover, you can visit this link. 

Aside from the Arab-built moon rover, SpaceX also launched other cargo. 

Recently, a SpaceX mission deployed its rival OneWeb satellites. 

The independent space agency is also expected to launch its own SpaceX 2nd-gen Starlink satellites after FCC gave the unit a go-signal. 

For more news updates about moon rovers and other innovations for space explorations, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.  

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