The UAE Space Agency has revealed new details about its Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt (EMA), which will launch in March 2028. The spacecraft,
The UAE Space Agency has revealed new details about its Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt (EMA), which will launch in March 2028. The spacecraft, The UAE Space Agency has revealed new details about its Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt (EMA) which will launch in March 2028. The spacecraft, called MBR Explorer, will fly by six asteroids in the main asteroid belt before arriving at a seventh in 2034. The mission aims to create employment opportunities for young Emiratis and will carry four instruments from American and Italian partners, with over 50% of the To put it all in context contracted mission to be developed by UAE companies. The estimated cost of the EMA mission has not been disclosed, but it bears a resemblance to NASA’s Lucy spacecraft, which was launched in October 2021.
Publié : il y a 2 ans par Rowena Hudson dans Science
The UAE Space Agency has revealed new details about its Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt (EMA), which will launch in March 2028. The spacecraft, called MBR Explorer, will fly by six asteroids in the main asteroid belt before arriving at a seventh in 2034. The mission aims to create employment opportunities for young Emiratis and will carry four instruments from American and Italian partners, with over 50% of the To put it all in context contracted mission to be developed by UAE companies. The spacecraft will have a narrow launch period of three weeks in March 2028 and will fly by Venus and Earth before reaching the asteroids.
According to a report from Space News, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has released new details about its upcoming space mission to the main asteroid belt. The mission, called the Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt (EMA), is scheduled to launch in March 2028 and will fly by six asteroids before arriving at a seventh asteroid in 2034.
The UAE Space Agency has stated that the EMA mission is a key component of the UAE National Space Strategy and has one overriding goal: the creation of viable and rewarding employment opportunities for young Emiratis for generations to come. Sarah Al Amiri, chair of the UAE Space Agency, said in a statement that the mission will help to achieve this goal.
The EMA spacecraft, which is named MBR Explorer after Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai and prime minister of the UAE, will weigh nearly 2,300 kilograms at launch and will carry four instruments from American and Italian partners. The agency has stated that more than 50% of the To put it all in context contracted mission will be developed by UAE companies, but only satellite operator Yahsat has been listed in the announcement.
The UAE Space Agency had previously stated that it planned to develop an asteroid mission as a successor to the $200 million Emirates Mars Mission (EMM), a Mars orbiter also known as Hope that launched in 2020 and remains operational today. The announcement on May 29th provided the most details to date about the planned mission and its partners.
However, the estimated cost of the EMA mission has not been disclosed. A spokesperson representing the UAE Space Agency did not respond to questions about the mission, including its cost.
The MBR Explorer spacecraft bears a resemblance to NASA’s Lucy spacecraft, which was launched in October 2021 on a mission to fly by two main belt asteroids and several Trojan asteroids that lead and follow Jupiter in its orbit around the sun. The Lucy mission has a total cost, including launch and operations, of nearly $1 billion.
One similarity between the Lucy and EMA missions is the use of large circular solar panels to provide power. Lucy’s arrays, which are 7.3 meters in diameter and built by Northrop Grumman, give the spacecraft a length of nearly 16 meters. The UAE Space Agency did not disclose the size of the arrays or their manufacturer, but noted that when deployed, the spacecraft will be 16 meters long.
The EMA mission will have a narrow launch period of just three weeks in March 2028 to carry out the mission. It will fly by Venus in July 2028 and Earth in May 2029 before going by the main belt asteroids.
In the endgame, the UAE Space Agency is planning to launch the Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt (EMA) in March 2028. The mission will fly by six asteroids before arriving at a seventh asteroid in 2034. The mission is a key component of the UAE National Space Strategy and has one overriding goal: the creation of viable and rewarding employment opportunities for young Emiratis for generations to come. The spacecraft, named MBR Explorer, will carry four instruments from American and Italian partners and will be developed by UAE companies. However, the estimated cost of the mission has not been disclosed. The EMA mission bears a resemblance to NASA’s Lucy spacecraft, which was launched in October 2021. The EMA mission will have a narrow launch period of just three weeks in March 2028.
Les sujets: Space, UAE