A small team of Emirati engineers have developed the UAE's lunar mission. Photo: MBRSC
A small team of Emirati engineers have developed the UAE's lunar mission. Photo: MBRSC
A small team of Emirati engineers have developed the UAE's lunar mission. Photo: MBRSC
A small team of Emirati engineers have developed the UAE's lunar mission. Photo: MBRSC

Emirati engineers working at 'full speed' for Rashid Rover 2, says MBRSC chief


Sarwat Nasir
  • English
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Emirati engineers are working at “full speed” to develop the UAE's second mission to the Moon, the chief of the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre has said.

Salem Al Marri, director general of the space centre, spoke to The National after investigation findings were released on the crash landing of a private spacecraft carrying the UAE's Rashid rover.

The Hakuto-R Mission 1 lander, which carried an Emirati and many international payloads, attempted a soft touchdown on the Moon's surface on April 26, but ran out of fuel due to an altitude miscalculation.

“Getting to the Moon, as we've said many times, is very difficult, very hard,” Mr Al Marri said.

“It seems small but obviously it's a complex set of events that led to that false reading, and then eventually running out of fuel and crashing.

“The main thing is that ispace now know exactly what happened and they can mitigate it in future missions.”

Ispace's investigations showed that a faulty software caused its lander to carry out incorrect altitude adjustments, ultimately causing it run out fuel right before a soft touchdown was expected.

Images taken by a Nasa rover showed four large pieces of debris scattered across the landing site.

The space centre has already started working on a second rover called Rashid 2.

As the UAE does not have its own landing capabilities, MBRSC would have to secure a lander again, like it did with the Hakuto-R, to send its rover to the Moon.

During a visit to the MBRSC, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai “instructed us to start working on the second rover,” Mr Al Marri confirmed.

“We're at full speed ahead. We're now looking at different elements of where this rover would be landing. So, the team is working very hard.

“The team is quite upbeat looking at the results of how close we got with ispace.”

He said the engineers are working on the design of the rover and the selection of the landing site.

“That really does make you feel like hopefully next time we can really make it and land on the surface of the Moon.”

New images reveal impact site on Moon where lander carrying UAE's Rashid rover crashed

  • Mosaic of the Hakuto-R Mission 1 Lunar Lander impact site. The blue cross marks the impact site. Nasa / GSFC/ Arizona State University
    Mosaic of the Hakuto-R Mission 1 Lunar Lander impact site. The blue cross marks the impact site. Nasa / GSFC/ Arizona State University
  • Ratio image created by dividing the after (M1437131607R) and before (M192675639R) images. The impact created an area of higher reflectance, approximately 60-80 m across NASA /GSFC / Arizona State University.
    Ratio image created by dividing the after (M1437131607R) and before (M192675639R) images. The impact created an area of higher reflectance, approximately 60-80 m across NASA /GSFC / Arizona State University.
  • Hakuto-R Mission 1 Lunar Lander impact site, as seen by LROC the day after the attempted landing. Nasa / GSFC / Arizona State University
    Hakuto-R Mission 1 Lunar Lander impact site, as seen by LROC the day after the attempted landing. Nasa / GSFC / Arizona State University
  • A prototype of the Rashid rover. Antonie Robertson/The National
    A prototype of the Rashid rover. Antonie Robertson/The National
  • The live-streamed launch of the UAE’s Rashid rover. Photo: Screengrab
    The live-streamed launch of the UAE’s Rashid rover. Photo: Screengrab
Day 2, stumps

Pakistan 482

Australia 30/0 (13 ov)

Australia trail by 452 runs with 10 wickets remaining in the innings

Results

57kg quarter-finals

Zakaria Eljamari (UAE) beat Hamed Al Matari (YEM) by points 3-0.

60kg quarter-finals

Ibrahim Bilal (UAE) beat Hyan Aljmyah (SYR) RSC round 2.

63.5kg quarter-finals

Nouredine Samir (UAE) beat Shamlan A Othman (KUW) by points 3-0.

67kg quarter-finals

Mohammed Mardi (UAE) beat Ahmad Ondash (LBN) by points 2-1.

71kg quarter-finals

Ahmad Bahman (UAE) defeated Lalthasanga Lelhchhun (IND) by points 3-0.

Amine El Moatassime (UAE) beat Seyed Kaveh Safakhaneh (IRI) by points 3-0.

81kg quarter-finals

Ilyass Habibali (UAE) beat Ahmad Hilal (PLE) by points 3-0

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Director: James Cameron

Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana

Rating: 4.5/5

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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENomad%20Homes%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2020%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHelen%20Chen%2C%20Damien%20Drap%2C%20and%20Dan%20Piehler%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20and%20Europe%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20PropTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2444m%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Acrew%20Capital%2C%2001%20Advisors%2C%20HighSage%20Ventures%2C%20Abstract%20Ventures%2C%20Partech%2C%20Precursor%20Ventures%2C%20Potluck%20Ventures%2C%20Knollwood%20and%20several%20undisclosed%20hedge%20funds%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
In numbers

Number of Chinese tourists coming to UAE in 2017 was... 1.3m

Alibaba’s new ‘Tech Town’  in Dubai is worth... $600m

China’s investment in the MIddle East in 2016 was... $29.5bn

The world’s most valuable start-up in 2018, TikTok, is valued at... $75bn

Boost to the UAE economy of 5G connectivity will be... $269bn 

The biog

Name: Shamsa Hassan Safar

Nationality: Emirati

Education: Degree in emergency medical services at Higher Colleges of Technology

Favourite book: Between two hearts- Arabic novels

Favourite music: Mohammed Abdu and modern Arabic songs

Favourite way to spend time off: Family visits and spending time with friends

Updated: May 26, 2023, 1:28 PM