The United Arab Emirates Space Agency (UAESA) unveiled the Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt (EMA) Monday with the aim of exploring the solar system's main asteroid belt to discover clues about the origins of life on Earth.
Part of the announcement was the name of the spacecraft, the Mohammed bin Rashid (MBR) Explorer, after the Emir of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
The program will run for 13 years, including the first six years dedicated to spacecraft development by private UAE-based start-up companies.
UAESA: MBR Mission a "Pioneering Leap"
The MBR Explorer is expected to launch by 2028 and travel at a speed of 33,000km per hour to study seven asteroids in the span of seven years.
The last of the probe's seven target asteroids is 269 Justitia, which could give more insight into the first stages of planetary life on Earth, especially how water can be present in some asteroids.
Emirati authorities say they plan to have the MBR Explorer reach Justitia by 2034.
"EMA takes a pioneering leap as the first mission to embark on the most extensive tour of the main asteroid belt nestled between Mars and Jupiter," UAESA wrote in a statement.
"The remarkable journey will be 10 times the distance covered by the Hope Probe," said Al Maktoum.
The mission was announced after the Emirates Mars Mission in 2021, where the country successfully sent its Hope Probe into Mars orbit. The mission made the UAE the first Arab country and second in the world to successfully enter Mars orbit.
UAE's ambition to send a probe to the asteroid belt could also propel the country's interest in extracting resources from asteroids or building a colony on Mars by 2117 as part of expanding its economic opportunities in its space sector.
"We will never cease to look ahead; we will never cease our efforts to develop a brighter future for our young generations," said Al Maktoum.
Justitia's Red Surface
One of the factors Emirati scientists are interested to know is why 269 Justitia has a red-colored surface, making it one of the two reddest objects in the asteroid belt.
"It's one of the two reddest objects in the asteroid belt, and scientists don't really understand why it's so red," said UAE Space Agency space science researcher Hoor al-Maazmi.
She also stated there are theories about Justitia originally coming from the Kuiper Belt because of the redness of the objects there.
Arabs in Space
Earlier last week, two astronauts from Saudi Arabia flew to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of Axiom Space's Ax-2 mission, which was commanded by former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson.
The milestone followed UAE's lead after Hazzaa al-Mansoori became the first Arab to reach the ISS in 2019.
