If the Rashid rover fails to land on the Moon it will not spell the end of the UAE's ambitions to explore its surface, insists the man in charge of the mission.
Emirates Lunar Misson manager Hamad Al Marzooqi said that Emirati engineers at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre have gained valuable experience throughout the expedition, which can be used in the country's long-term Moon exploration programme.
Lunar landings are a difficult feat to achieve, with more than half failing.
The Rashid rover is en route to the Moon on the Hakuto-R Mission 1 lander, a spacecraft built by Japan's ispace, which is also the company's maiden mission.
The lander will attempt to land at the Atlas Crater region at the end of next month. However, three backup sites have also been selected as a precaution.
Dr Al Marzooqi was speaking during a panel session held at the SpaceOps conference in Dubai on Wednesday.
"Developing that mission, designing it from scratch, testing and now preparing for operations — all of this know-how that the team gained is a success," he said.
"It's a risky business, but again, it's not the end. At MBRSC, we have plans for what's next.
"If we can call it a trial, yes, maybe it's a trial. But, again, we will have a second and third."
Spacecraft that are touching down on Earth or Mars, for example, can deploy parachutes to slow themselves down and land safely.
But the Moon does not have an atmosphere, so complex manoeuvres are required to reduce the speed of the lander to land softly on the surface.
Only the US, the former Soviet Union and China have achieved soft landings on the lunar surface.
Most recently, landers operated by India and Israel crashed on the surface.
The Hakuto-R Mission 1 lander, with the Rashid rover safely stored inside, has travelled more than 1.5 million km since launching into space on December 11.
It is travelling on a low-energy transfer route to the Moon, which means it used a gravity assist from the Sun and the Earth to get closer to the lunar orbit.
"Our Hakuto-R M1 lander is currently orbiting the Earth at a distance of approximately 580,000km," said Tiago Monteiro Padovan, spaceflight dynamics engineer.
"In the coming weeks, it will transition to a lunar orbit where a series of manoeuvres targeting landing will be performed."
Ispace has taken over the difficult part of the mission by developing a lander that would help achieve the complicated process of a lunar landing.
This allows scientists and engineers to focus on the science objectives during the mission.
For the UAE, this means that Emirati engineers can study the properties of lunar soil, the petrography and geology of the Moon, dust movement and surface plasma conditions and the Moon's photoelectron sheath.
Lunar dust, or regolith, is one of the main challenges astronauts face on the Moon.
It was during the Apollo missions that scientists learnt how lunar dust stuck to spacesuits, causing erosion and operational problems.
With space agencies determined to send humans to the Moon again, razor-sharp lunar dust particles remain a concern as they stick to nearly everything.
Different materials have been attached beneath the Rashid rover's wheels that will help scientists study how they react to lunar dust.
This could help them create astronaut suits for future missions.
Dr Al Marzooqi said they have already started working on Rashid 2, the country's second lunar rover that will be launched on a Chinese rocket in 2026.
China will help to launch the rover on its Chang’e-7 lunar south pole mission.
Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
Basquiat in Abu Dhabi
One of Basquiat’s paintings, the vibrant Cabra (1981–82), now hangs in Louvre Abu Dhabi temporarily, on loan from the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
The latter museum is not open physically, but has assembled a collection and puts together a series of events called Talking Art, such as this discussion, moderated by writer Chaedria LaBouvier.
It's something of a Basquiat season in Abu Dhabi at the moment. Last week, The Radiant Child, a documentary on Basquiat was shown at Manarat Al Saadiyat, and tonight (April 18) the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is throwing the re-creation of a party tonight, of the legendary Canal Zone party thrown in 1979, which epitomised the collaborative scene of the time. It was at Canal Zone that Basquiat met prominent members of the art world and moved from unknown graffiti artist into someone in the spotlight.
“We’ve invited local resident arists, we’ll have spray cans at the ready,” says curator Maisa Al Qassemi of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi's Canal Zone Remix is at Manarat Al Saadiyat, Thursday April 18, from 8pm. Free entry to all. Basquiat's Cabra is on view at Louvre Abu Dhabi until October
Under 19 World Cup
Group A: India, Japan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka
Group B: Australia, England, Nigeria, West Indies
Group C: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Scotland, Zimbabwe
Group D: Afghanistan, Canada, South Africa, UAE
UAE fixtures
Saturday, January 18, v Canada
Wednesday, January 22, v Afghanistan
Saturday, January 25, v South Africa
SCORES IN BRIEF
New Zealand 153 and 56 for 1 in 22.4 overs at close
Pakistan 227
(Babar 62, Asad 43, Boult 4-54, De Grandhomme 2-30, Patel 2-64)
How to donate
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
It’ll be summer in the city as car show tries to move with the times
If 2008 was the year that rocked Detroit, 2019 will be when Motor City gives its annual car extravaganza a revamp that aims to move with the times.
A major change is that this week's North American International Auto Show will be the last to be held in January, after which the event will switch to June.
The new date, organisers said, will allow exhibitors to move vehicles and activities outside the Cobo Center's halls and into other city venues, unencumbered by cold January weather, exemplified this week by snow and ice.
In a market in which trends can easily be outpaced beyond one event, the need to do so was probably exacerbated by the decision of Germany's big three carmakers – BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi – to skip the auto show this year.
The show has long allowed car enthusiasts to sit behind the wheel of the latest models at the start of the calendar year but a more fluid car market in an online world has made sales less seasonal.
Similarly, everyday technology seems to be catching up on those whose job it is to get behind microphones and try and tempt the visiting public into making a purchase.
Although sparkly announcers clasp iPads and outline the technical gadgetry hidden beneath bonnets, people's obsession with their own smartphones often appeared to offer a more tempting distraction.
“It's maddening,” said one such worker at Nissan's stand.
The absence of some pizzazz, as well as top marques, was also noted by patrons.
“It looks like there are a few less cars this year,” one annual attendee said of this year's exhibitors.
“I can't help but think it's easier to stay at home than to brave the snow and come here.”
Squads
India (for first three ODIs) Kohli (capt), Rohit, Rahul, Pandey, Jadhav, Rahane, Dhoni, Pandya, Axar, Kuldeep, Chahal, Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar, Umesh, Shami.
Australia Smith (capt), Warner, Agar, Cartwright, Coulter-Nile, Cummins, Faulkner, Finch, Head, Maxwell, Richardson, Stoinis, Wade, Zampa.
Bob Honey Who Just Do Stuff
By Sean Penn
Simon & Schuster
