Emirates the rising star on Asteroids

The mission will extend over 13 years, divided into six years to develop and design the spacecraft, and seven years to explore the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. This will include a series of close manoeuvres to collect data for the first time on six asteroids, ending with the seventh asteroid “Justicia”.

HE Salem Butti Al Qubaisi, director general of the Emirates Space Agency, said: “The final design of the Emirates mission to explore the asteroid belt represents more than just a technical step, as it reflects our strategic vision and continuous development to support the achievement of its scientific goals and strengthen our position as pioneers in this vital sector.”

The programme is targeting a 2028 launch with the landing in 2033. The mission will see the spacecraft travel around 3.6 billion kilometres (2.2 billion miles). It will need to slingshot around Venus and then Earth to gather enough velocity to reach the asteroid belt around 560 million kilometres (350 million miles) away.

Its objectives are to understand the origins and evolution of water-rich asteroids and estimate the possibility of using asteroids as resources for future space exploration missions.

It will also measure the surface composition, geology and interior density of several asteroids in the main asteroid belt, and measure their temperatures and thermophysical properties to assess their surface evolution and history.

Several national companies will lead the design of the landing vehicle on the Justicia asteroid, including Space 971 and Sadeem Space Solutions.

The UAE mission includes a group of academic and hardware development partners, which include: Khalifa University, New York University Abu Dhabi, the National Center for Space Science and Technology at the UAE University, and national institutions such as the Institute of Technology Innovation, Yahsat, and local and international partners from the private sector.

In addition, it includes partnerships with local and international agencies, institutions and universities, such as the Italian Space Agency, the American University of Colorado, Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University in the United States.