New launch date set for UAE Moon Mission

The UAE's first mission to the Moon is now scheduled to launch on November 30, Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) announced.

The Rashid Rover will now lift off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from a Cape Canaveral space base in Florida at 12:39 pm (UAE time).

The date may change further depending on weather and other conditions, the authority clarified.

Earlier, the Emirates Lunar Mission was supposed to launch on November 28.

The Rashid Rover's landing site will be Atlas crater, on the southeastern outer edge of Mare Frigoris (Sea of Cold). 

Once it lands the Rover will explore the characteristics of lunar soil, the petrography and geology of the Moon, dust movement, surface plasma conditions, and the Moon's photoelectron sheath.

The UAE has teamed up with a Japanese lunar exploration company ispace to land the Rashid Rover on the Moon.