SpaceX sends Hakuto-R lander and Rashid rover to the Moon

SpaceX launched the Japanese Hakuto-R module with the Rashid lunar rover using a Falcon 9 rocket.

developed in the UAE.

What is known

The mission started on December 11 at 09:38 (EET).The launch vehicle was launched from Cape Canaveral. The first stage returned to Earth 8 minutes after launch. The lander Hakuto-R of the Japanese company ispace, after 47 minutes of flight, separated from the Falcon 9 and went towards the moon on its own.

Falcon 9 launches @ispace_inc's HAKUTO-R mission to the Moon, first stage booster returns to Earth pic.twitter.com/cTnTRxzdU2

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 11, 2022

Hakuto-R is expected to reachnatural satellite of the Earth in the spring of 2023. It will be the first ever Japanese lander on the Moon. Hakuto-R will carry the 10 kg Rashid lunar rover, built in the United Arab Emirates. After disembarking, he will take photographs of the environment.

The Japanese company ispace will continue to developlunar program. In two years, she will send another device to the Moon, and in 2027 she will deliver scientific equipment for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).