Rashid Rover
According to Aidan Cowley of the ESA's ExPeRT (Exploration Preparation, Research and Technology) team, which is based at the European Astronaut Centre in Germany and is developing new technologies for human lunar and planetary exploration, the invitation to contribute to the Rashid rover's wheel-based Material Adhesion and Abrasion Detection experiment was an offer we couldn't refuse.

Rover Rashid
Rover Rashid
This is a chance to really touch the Moon and observe how the material technologies we have been developing perform in the genuine lunar environment. Therefore, as the wheels make touch with the surface, we will see how they interact with the regolith and how they hold up to more extreme lunar conditions.

Ugo Lafont, an ESA materials engineer based in the Netherlands at the ESTEC technical centre, has also contributed:

UAE honoured for having Rashid Rover