Dubai students build their own version of Rashid Rover

Students at a school in Dubai were able to build a prototype of a lunar rover — one that can collect samples from the Moon using pipes, connectors and some borrowed vehicle parts.

The Year 13 students of Dubai International Academy (DIA) Emirates Hills took inspiration from the UAE's Rashid Rover, which is all set to blast off for its historic mission this month.

Mehul Vemareddy, Prateeti Saran, Umar Ingalls, Soumyo Satyanarayanan, and Kshiteez Panigrahi constructed the lightweight rover that can move at a top speed of 30km per hour.

Their creation may look like a simple racing kart at first glance — but this innovation can do wonders, according to the group.

The students also built rover's accessories, including a solar panel and a robotic arm designed to collect samples from the lunar surface.

In the future, they may even incorporate artificial intelligence into the 80kg machine so it can complete missions autonomously.

Guided by the Dubai Future Labs and the Ministry of State for Artificial Intelligence, the students were able to assemble their rover prototype in three months. They even held an event to showcase the working model.