Dubai: As the UAE attempts a history feat to become the first Arab country to land on the Moon tonight, the Mohammed Bin Rashid Centre (MBRSC), the agency behind the Emirates Lunar Mission (ELM) has explained the challenges that lie ahead for the Emirati-built Rashid Rover during the landing attempt.

The challenges include the lander derailing from its trajectory, communication loss, harsh landing due to environmental changes or lander faults and surface threats like craters and boulders.

The success rate of lunar missions is only 50 per cent. Only the US, the former Soviet Union, and China have successfully made soft lunar landing attempts. Both India and Israel had made hard landings on the moon, causing the landers to crash.

Stunning images

Meanwhile the Japanese lander sent back stunning images of the Moon yesterday.

“We are excited to share a new photo of the Moon taken by the lander’s on-board camera from an altitude of about 100km above the lunar surface,” ispace said in a tweet on Monday evening.

“We’ve received another incredible photo from the camera onboard our Mission 1 lander! Seen here is the lunar Earthrise during solar eclipse, captured by the lander-mounted camera at an altitude of about 100km from the lunar surface,” ispace said in its second tweet later the same day.