Its main mission is one lunar day
Explorer Rashid is waiting for the green light to set out for the moon
The Explorer was designed and executed by 100% Emirati hands.
Emirates today
Hamad Al-Marzouqi: "The explorer's team has the flexibility to change plans based on the reality on the moon."
“3 teams at the ground station issue commands to the explorer, receive data and analyze it.”
Al-Marzouqi: The primary mission of "Explorer Rashid" will take one lunar day.
From the source
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The Director of the Emirates Project to Exploration the Moon (Explorer Rashid), Dr. Hamad Al-Marzouqi, revealed that the main mission of the explorer on the moon's surface will take one lunar day (equivalent to 14.5 Earth days), indicating that the mission, if successful, will be the first in the UAE and the Arab world, and the fourth. globally.
He added: "The Rashid explorer is distinguished from other missions, as it includes four cameras and a device to measure charges on the moon's surface, all of which are unique, and are used for the first time in an exploratory mission on the moon."
He told "Emirates Today" that "the launch date of the explorer will be any day after the 22nd of this month, and before the beginning of next December."
He explained that "the launch of the explorer Rashid is preceded by other tasks observed in the schedule in the launch area, and they have an impact on our mission (the Emirates mission to explore the moon), and the weather conditions greatly affect the delay in the launch, and therefore the date cannot be determined, except after setting the date for the other tasks." .
Regarding the preparations prior to the launch phase, Al Marzouki confirmed the installation of the satellite (Explorer Rashid), on the landing craft, meaning that it is “in a state of readiness for launch, and then it can be confirmed that the explorer is preparing to launch when the green light is obtained.
All pre-launch tests were conducted for him, and all went smoothly without any technical issues, and the operations team continues to train operations during and after the launch phase, and anticipate scenarios that could occur during the mission in its various stages.”
He pointed out that one of the engineers of the explorer team was in Florida, at an earlier stage, (the explorer departs from the Kennedy Space Center), to ensure the safety of the devices, and to follow up on the explorer's presence well on board the landing craft, but currently there is no member of the team in the launch area.
Al-Marzouki stated that the explorer includes unique devices used for the first time in the process of exploring the surface of the moon, including two primary cameras provided by the French Space Agency, in the framework of cooperation with the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center, which are two optical cameras, one of which provides the opportunity to take pictures of the landing area, and the area around the explorer. On the lunar surface, the resolution of the images is (4 megapixels), and it provides images to lead the navigator to navigate on the lunar surface, as well as provide scientific images to the international scientific community.
The explorer also includes a microscopic camera that helps to photograph the lunar surface closely, thus helping to understand the nature of the lunar surface, and the size and shape of the lunar surface grains.
These images will be available for the first time through a device such as the Explorer.
The explorer has a device to measure the precise electrical charges on the surface of the moon, as it is expected that the lunar surface environment in general will be charged, and the charges vary according to the terrain, the different periods of the day, the temperature, and the altitude from the surface of the moon.
He added that the explorer includes four sensors, which have the ability to measure minute electrical charges, which helps to understand the phenomenon of charges that are considered strange, and for the first time a device with these capabilities has been sent to the surface of the moon.
The explorer also includes a thermal camera, which gives an opportunity to understand the thermal nature of the moon's surface, the nature of the terrain, and the temperature difference in the day and hours of the day and in different places.
On the mechanism of the earth station's communication with the moon after launch, Al Marzouki said that this is done through the landing vehicle, and a direct communication system between the moon and the station, where the explorer includes a communication device that helps direct communication with it.
He confirmed the existence of three teams working continuously together, to provide a plan for the explorer to carry out operations on the moon's surface, and to make maximum use of the data and images that it sends to the ground station. After receiving it, it is sent to the engineering team at the center, where it analyzes and discusses it with the scientific team, and develops a plan for its implementation through the operations team.
He said that the mission of the explorer on the moon's surface will take one lunar day, starting after sunrise in the landing area on the moon's surface, until before sunset, during which the explorer works during this period to implement the basic idea of the mission, which is to move on the surface of the moon, and visit places Different, and each site will have a clear scientific plan, including imaging and measuring electrical charges, and these plans are in coordination between the scientific and engineering teams in the center, and then sent to the operations team, which in turn implements the plan, and receives the data, pointing out that the team has the flexibility to change plans. Based on the reality on the lunar surface, this is done at breakneck speed to make the most of the duration of the mission on the lunar surface.
He pointed out that the lunar day witnesses the sunrise and continues until sunset for 14 and a half days of Earth days, while the lunar day (night and day) is equivalent to 29 Earth days, and therefore the mission of the explorer will be during one lunar day (14.5 Earth days), then enters In nocturnal hibernation, and shut down all his organs (for a period of 14.5 Earth days).
The duration of the explorer's trip to the moon is four months, explaining that the work of the devices on the next lunar day will be an additional task, because the main task is in the lunar day that precedes its entry into night hibernation.
Al-Marzouqi explained that the explorer is distinguished by two main things, which make the data and images that it will send to the ground station as a strong addition to the scientific community.
The first is that it uses unique devices, which have not been sent to the surface of the moon before, and then the data it provides will be new and important to the scientific community, and the second is the landing area itself, as it is a new addition to the previous missions that were sent to explore the surface of the moon, indicating that the areas that Very few have been explored before, and therefore the surface of the moon contains many areas of interest to the scientific community.
Al Marzouki stated that the mission was designed and completed by the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center team, who is 100% Emirati, pointing out that the percentage of female engineers and female employees in the center reaches 40%, and they played a key role in the achievement of the explorer.
“The launch date of the Explorer will be any day after the 22nd of this month.
Before the beginning of next December.
"The explorer includes unique devices used for the first time in the process of exploring the surface of the moon."
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