Photo: Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center MBRSC via Youtube
After making history as being the first Arab country to reach the Red Planet back in February, the United Arab Emirates is ready to venture back into the vastness of space and go beyond Mars. The nation has recently announced plans to explore the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter in 2028.
This will mark the UAE's second interplanetary mission and will build upon the knowledge gathered from its Mars mission.
"When we embarked on the Emirates Mars Mission, we took on a six-year task that was in the order of five times more complex than the earth observation satellites we were developing. This mission is in the order of five times more complex than EMM," said the UAE Space Agency in a statement.
The nation's spacecraft will embark on a 2.2 billion-mile journey, and it will take approximately five years to reach the asteroid belt. But before it gets beyond Mars, the probe will slingshot around Venus and Earth to get a speed boost and build the necessary velocity to reach the main asteroid belt, located between Mars and Jupiter. The mission is set to make its first close planetary approach in mid-2028, orbiting Venus, followed by an orbit of Earth in mid-2029.
The UAE Space Agency's main objective is to investigate seven main belt asteroids. The spacecraft will perform its first flyby of an asteroid belt object in 2030, and it will land on an asteroid located 348 million miles (about 560 million km) from Earth in 2033. This will make the Emirates the fourth nation to land a spacecraft on an asteroid.
Overall, the mission presents numerous challenges in terms of spacecraft design and engineering, and interplanetary navigation, requiring new levels of performance from its communications, power, and propulsion systems, as well as rigorous mission control. More details regarding the mission's science objectives and instrumentation will be revealed in 2022.
"When we embarked on the Emirates Mars Mission, we took on a six-year task that was in the order of five times more complex than the earth observation satellites we were developing. This mission is in the order of five times more complex than EMM," said the UAE Space Agency in a statement.
The nation's spacecraft will embark on a 2.2 billion-mile journey, and it will take approximately five years to reach the asteroid belt. But before it gets beyond Mars, the probe will slingshot around Venus and Earth to get a speed boost and build the necessary velocity to reach the main asteroid belt, located between Mars and Jupiter. The mission is set to make its first close planetary approach in mid-2028, orbiting Venus, followed by an orbit of Earth in mid-2029.
The UAE Space Agency's main objective is to investigate seven main belt asteroids. The spacecraft will perform its first flyby of an asteroid belt object in 2030, and it will land on an asteroid located 348 million miles (about 560 million km) from Earth in 2033. This will make the Emirates the fourth nation to land a spacecraft on an asteroid.
Overall, the mission presents numerous challenges in terms of spacecraft design and engineering, and interplanetary navigation, requiring new levels of performance from its communications, power, and propulsion systems, as well as rigorous mission control. More details regarding the mission's science objectives and instrumentation will be revealed in 2022.
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