The privately led mission will be a tech demo for further lunar ambitions.
rather than a direct approach, according to ispace, meaning the landing will take around five months after launch, in March 2023.The Rashid 1 rover was developed by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center in Dubai. At 22 pounds , it would be the smallest rover to land on the moon and is expected to operate on the surface for a single lunar day.
The four-wheeled, 21-by-21 inch solar-powered rover carries a pair of high-resolution cameras, a thermal imager, a microscopic imager, and an instrument for investigating the electrically charged environment at the lunar surface., does not have its own lunar landing capabilities and has contracted the private Japanese firm ispace to fulfill that role.
"This is a historic mission," Jumpei Nozaki, director and chief financial officer of ispace, told Space.com."There are not many privately funded companies doing this kind of mission. So I think it's really important to prove that such a private company can do this." "This is a proof of concept mission. First of all, in terms of technology. But also we also want to prove that we are providing a service," Nozaki said.Related stories:
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