The United Arab Emirates (UAE)’s first lunar rover successfully lifted off today from the Cape Canaveral Space Station in Florida. The UAE rover was launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 02:38 local time as part of the UAE-Japan mission to the moon. If successful, the probe would make the UAE the fourth country to operate a spacecraft on the moon, after China, Russia and the United States.

The UAE-Japan mission includes a lander called Hakuto-R (meaning “White Rabbit”) built by the Japanese company ispace. The spacecraft will take nearly four months to reach the Moon before landing in Atlas Crater on the near side of the Moon. It then gently releases the 10kg four-wheeled Rashid (meaning “right steered”) rover to explore the lunar surface.

The rover, built by the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center, contains a high-resolution camera and a thermal imaging camera, both of which will study the composition of the lunar regolith. They will also photograph dust movement on the lunar surface, perform basic inspections of lunar rocks, and study surface plasma conditions.

An interesting aspect of the rover is that it will test a variety of different materials that could be used to make lunar wheels. These materials were applied in the form of adhesive strips to Rashid’s wheels to determine which would best protect against moondust and other harsh conditions. One such material is a graphene-based composite designed by the University of Cambridge in the UK and the Free University of Brussels in Belgium.

“The Cradle of Planetary Science”

The UAE-Japan mission is just one in a series of moon visits currently underway or planned. In August, South Korea launched an orbiter called Danuri (meaning “enjoy the moon”). In November, NASA launched the Artemis rocket carrying the Orion capsule that will eventually return astronauts to the Moon. Meanwhile, India, Russia and Japan plan to launch unmanned landers in the first quarter of 2023.

Promoters of planetary exploration see the Moon as a natural launch pad for crewed missions to Mars and beyond. It is hoped that scientific research will show whether lunar colonies can be self-sufficient and whether lunar resources can fuel these missions. Another possibility is potentially attractive here on Earth. Planetary geologists believe that lunar soil contains large amounts of helium-3, an isotope that is expected to be used in nuclear fusion.

“The Moon is the cradle of planetary science,” says planetary geologist David Blewett of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. “We can study things on the moon that were wiped off on Earth because of its active surface.” The latest mission also shows that commercial companies are starting to launch their own missions, rather than acting as government contractors. “Companies, including many not in aerospace, are starting to show their interest,” he added.