JAKARTA – The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has just planned a mission to visit an asteroid that may contain the building blocks of life. This mission will launch about a decade from now.
Dubbed the Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt (EMA), the project aims to develop the spacecraft in the coming years, and then launch it in 2028 to study asteroids.
“The Emirates mission to the Asteroid Belt is a massive scientific project that will result in the establishment of a private Emirati company specializing in space science and technology, the development of a deep space mission control center, and the training of Emirati talent,” said the vice president and prime minister of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoumbin Rashid Al Maktoum in his official statement, quoted on Tuesday, May 30.
The EMA spacecraft will be named the sheikh, but called the MBR Explorer, which will travel 5 billion kilometers past Mars to explore the seven asteroids in the main asteroid belt and finally land on the last asteroid (269) Justitia in 2034.
On Justitia, the MBR Explorer will launch a small lander. The asteroid is claimed to have organic molecules on its surface. Organics are the building blocks of complex molecules that can form life under the right circumstances.
The search is especially meaningful for Justitia, which may have formed closer to Earth and then migrated to its current position in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, Space reported.
The asteroid flybys include, (10254) Westerwald, (623) Chimaera, (13294) Rockox, (88055) 2000 VA28, (23871) 1998 RC76 and (59980) 1999 SG6, all purported to represent a distinct class of asteroid with a type of composition. which varies.
Justitia and Chimaera are about 31 miles (50 kilometers) in diameter, with the remaining asteroids measuring less than 6 miles (10 km) each.
The EMA consists of a thirteen-year mission, in which a six-year spacecraft development phase is followed by a seven-year flight to the main asteroid belt beyond Mars, and a series of close passes to make unique observations of seven main belt asteroids.
This mission will build on the learning, capabilities, innovation, legacy of the Emirates Mars Mission and further accelerate the development of the country’s private space sector. It is known that the UAE has successfully launched the Hope spacecraft which landed on Mars in 2020.
Furthermore, the MBR Explorer’s four science instruments include a high-resolution camera, a thermal infrared camera, a medium wavelength spectrometer, and an infrared spectrometer.
Together, the instruments will support observations that will measure the surface composition, geology, interior density and structure of asteroids in the five main belt families.
This will help to better understand the origin and evolution of water-rich asteroids and also assess the potential of asteroid resources and pave the way for future utilization of asteroid resources.
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2023-05-30 14:06:00
#UAE #Visit #Asteroids #Mars #Jupiter
