The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) announced today that the Rashid Rover, which will be aboard the HAKUTO-R Mission 1 Lunar Lander, will land on the Moon on April 25 at 8:40 p.m. (UAE time). The landing date is subject to change based on operational requirements.
The Rashid Rover is currently orbiting the Moon at an altitude of approximately 100 kilometres at the perilune (periapsis) and approximately 2,300 kilometres at the apolune (apoapsis).
The points in the orbit closest to the centre of the moon are known as perilune, while the farthest are known as apolune. On April 25, around 7:40 p.m., the lander carrying the Rashid Rover will perform multiple orbital control manoeuvres to achieve a 100 km circular orbit around the Moon before beginning the landing sequence.
The lander will perform a braking burn during the landing sequence, firing its main propulsion system to decelerate from orbit. The lander will adjust its altitude and velocity using a series of pre-programmed commands to make a soft landing on the confirmed site of Atlas Crater in the Mare Frigoris.
Before landing, the ELM team will complete nearly 370 minutes of communication with the world’s smallest rover, as well as 12 mission rehearsals for surface operations.
The mission rehearsal is critical for the engineering team to be prepared and ready with their programmes for execution following the lunar landing, as well as for the various subsystem teams to sync their operational work.