South African National Space Agency (SANSA) has signed an agreement with the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) to support the Emirates Lunar Mission (ELM). As a payload on iSpace Hakuto-R M1 mission, the Rashid Rover lifted off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, USA, on 11 December 2022.

The Centre will use SANSA Hartebeesthoek Ground Station to establish direct communication between the rover and the ELM Control Centre at MBRSC located in the UAE, after the rover lands on the Moon surface.

“Lunar missions are complex, amassed with daunting challenges and have little to no room for error. On this backdrop, we are approaching the planned support activities with meticulosity”, said Tiaan Strydom, acting SANSA commercial services executive.

SANSA, as one of the supporting ground stations, will commission two antennas to track and communicate with the spacecraft. A 12-metre S-band antenna will be used for uplink transmissions, while a 26-metre parabolic antenna will be commissioned for downlink transmissions.

The ELM is expected to travel about five months before landing on the lunar surface.  While the rover is en route to the lunar surface, the MBRSC engineering team will visit South Africa to collaborate with the SANSA engineering team in installing and testing specialised equipment for the mission at Hartebeesthoek.

Dr. Hamad Almarzooqi, Emirates Lunar Mission director at MBRSC said: "We have made tremendous progress on the mission with the help of our partners. The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre team is excited to collaborate with the SANSA team and complete the mission successfully.”

“The ELM is special to SANSA because it is a historic mission to the United Arab Emirates. We also see it as a build-up to supporting manned Moon missions which are now a strategic focus for many global space industry players,” Strydom said.