Emirati engineers will begin building the <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/future/space/2024/10/16/emirati-engineers-to-start-building-asteroid-exploring-spacecraft-after-design-receives-final-approval/" target="_blank">UAE</a>’s first asteroid-exploring spacecraft after the mission’s design received final approval on Wednesday. The <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/2023/09/08/uae-space-agency-captures-crucial-data-on-mysterious-asteroid-it-hopes-to-land-a-craft-on/" target="_blank">UAE Space Agency</a> announced that the critical design review for the mission has been completed successfully, allowing the project to progress into the manufacturing, assembly and testing phase. Engineers will develop <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/2023/05/29/mbr-explorer-uae-unveils-details-of-its-mission-to-the-main-asteroid-belt/" target="_blank">MBR Explorer</a>, a 2,300kg spacecraft, that will be launched in 2028 on board a Japanese rocket to explore six asteroids in the belt between Mars and Jupiter and attempt a landing on a seventh. “Over the past three days, the Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt team, with space sector experts, conducted the Critical Design Review,” the UAE Space Agency said in a statement issued on Thursday. “It covered spacecraft design, system evaluations, manufacturing plans and performance analysis. The review focused on testing strategies, risk management and maintaining alignment with the project timeline as the mission advances towards manufacturing.” The mission involves a five billion km journey, including a Venus and Mars fly-by that will enable it reach the main asteroid belt using assistance from the planets' gravity. It is expected to provide key insights into the early solar system by studying the composition and history of asteroids. The mission marks the UAE’s next major step in deep space exploration, building on the success of its historic Mars mission in which the Hope probe entered the planet’s orbit in 2021, helping the country to become only the fifth nation to reach the Red Planet. The UAE Space Agency is working with the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (Lasp) at the University of Colorado Boulder again for this mission, as it did previously for its mission to Mars. The Arizona State University is also working with the Emirati engineers and the Italian Space Agency will contribute instruments on the craft. About 40 engineers from the UAE are temporarily based in Colorado to work on the mission, including from the UAE Space Agency, academic institutions and private companies. Apart from developing skills in the domestic workforce, another focus for the space agency on this mission is private sector involvement. The Technology Innovation Institute was selected by the agency to develop and execute the lander, which will be deployed by the MBR Explorer spacecraft when it approaches its seventh asteroid, called Justitia, so it can attempt a landing in 2035. Scientists are particularly interested in Justitia because of its mysterious appearance. While most asteroids are bluish, this one has a reddish colour, with possible origins from our solar system. The six other celestial bodies that the UAE spacecraft will explore are 10253 Westerwald, 623 Chimaera, 13294 Rockox, 88055, 23871 and 59980.
