Today's Edition
Batool Ghaith (ABU DHABI)
The UAE's space ambitions are moving at a meteoric pace. In less than two decades, the country has rocketed from launching its first Earth observation satellite in 2009 to leading advanced space missions. Now, it is preparing to send a spacecraft 5 billion kilometres into the main asteroid belt to study seven asteroids.
The Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt (EMA) is among the most complex interplanetary programmes undertaken by a space agency of this generation - and it will be led and operated from the UAE, Mission Director Mohsen Al Awadhi told Aletihad in an interview.
"This rapid progression from Earth observation missions to deep-space exploration underscores the UAE's ambition and technological capability," Al Awadhi said.
EMA is set for liftoff in 2028 and, recently, it completed a crucial step toward operational readiness. It successfully cleared the Ground Segment Critical Design Review (GS-CDR).
This confirms that the mission's ground segment - the systems responsible for operating and communicating with the spacecraft - is ready to move into full-scale implementation, integration, and testing.
Once operational, the UAE-based mission control centre will command the MBR Explorer spacecraft throughout its journey into deep space.
Al Awadhi said that through EMA, the country aims to establish itself as a long-term operator in deep space, strengthening its role in global space exploration.
Central to the mission is the MBR Explorer spacecraft, which will travel across the Asteroid Belt and visit seven asteroids, including the water-rich asteroid 269 Justitia.
The mission will also include a landing opportunity for a UAE-developed lander, marking the first time the country attempts such an operation on a main-belt asteroid.
For the UAE, EMA's significance extends beyond scientific discovery. Al Awadhi said the real value lies in the capabilities being developed within the country through this mission.
"Designing, operating and commanding a spacecraft across billions of kilometres requires expertise across propulsion systems, autonomous navigation, deep-space communication, orbital mechanics, power management, and fault detection systems," he explained.
These capabilities, he added, would also elevate the UAE's standing in global space collaborations.
"By operating its own deep-space mission, the UAE becomes a more significant partner in global initiatives such as the Artemis Accords, where it currently serves as co-chair alongside NASA and the Australian Space Agency, and in multilateral platforms like COPUOS," Al Awadhi said.
Maintaining sovereign control over mission operations and data infrastructure is central to the UAE's long-term space strategy, he added.
When the Hope Probe reached Mars in 2021, he noted, the UAE had the option to outsource mission operations but deliberately chose not to. Building those capabilities internally helped develop the institutional expertise that has enabled the EMA's ground segment to pass its Critical Design Review, with international reviewers confirming the programme's operational maturity earlier this year.
Rich Insights, Valuable Datasets
The UAE's mission control centre, operated by the national team at Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), will command the MBR Explorer spacecraft over more than eight years of mission operations.
These operations will include complex gravity-assist manoeuvres, proximity navigation near seven asteroid bodies, and ultimately a landing opportunity on asteroid 269 Justitia for a UAE-developed lander led by the Technology Innovation Institute (TII).
The scientific data from the mission is expected to be among the most valuable planetary science datasets generated to date, Al Awadhi said.
"It will provide insights into water-rich asteroids, organic materials, the origins of planetary building blocks, and the potential resources within the solar system," he explained.
To ensure full national control of this information, the UAE has established a dedicated Science Data Centre, where all mission data will be received, processed and analysed.
The infrastructure uses a cloud-enabled architecture, a model already tested during the extended phase of the Emirates Mars Mission, designed to ensure that the UAE's data pipelines remain sovereign, scalable and resilient, he said.
Looking ahead, Al Awadhi noted that building domestic data infrastructure will be essential to achieving the UAE's ambition of becoming one of the world's top 10 space economies by 2031.
Controlling mission data allows the country to develop the full value chain, from raw scientific information to research publications, commercial applications, and advanced AI-driven geospatial intelligence platforms such as GIQ, developed in partnership with Space42, he added.
Boosting the Space Economy
Beyond science, EMA is also designed to accelerate the growth of the UAE's space economy, as the mission architecture incorporated economic objectives, with 50% of the programme's work allocated to UAE-based private sector companies, he said.
"This approach is intended to create contracts, intellectual property, and technological expertise within the country's growing space sector," Al Awadhi said.
The UAE's space economy has already reached Dh22 billion ($5.9 billion), with more than 170 companies active in the sector. Under the country's national space strategy, the goal is to double the sector's economic contribution and place the UAE among the world's top 10 space economies by 2031. EMA is expected to play a central role in achieving that objective.
Transforming Industries
Al Awadhi also noted that the technologies developed through EMA are expected to benefit industries far beyond aerospace.
Advanced solar power systems designed to operate efficiently at vast distances from the Sun could contribute to improvements in photovoltaic technology and distributed energy systems.
Research on water-rich asteroids may also enhance scientific understanding relevant to water purification and desalination technologies, which are critical to the Gulf region.
Other technologies being developed - including autonomous navigation systems, fault detection algorithms, cloud-enabled mission operations frameworks, and long-duration reliability engineering - could influence sectors such as autonomous transportation, smart logistics, robotics and infrastructure monitoring.
Mission Status Explained
Following the successful completion of the Ground Segment Critical Design Review, the mission has now formally entered the implementation phase, Al Awadhi said.
The next major stage will involve Assembly, Integration and Testing (AI&T) of both the spacecraft and ground systems.
"During this phase, engineers will assemble the spacecraft and rigorously test each subsystem to ensure it can withstand the harsh conditions of deep space," he said.
This phase will continue through 2027, leading to final launch readiness ahead of the mission's Q1 2028 liftoff window. If successful, the spacecraft is expected to reach its first asteroid encounter in February 2030, marking the start of extended deep-space operations.
For the UAE, EMA represents not just a single mission but the foundation of a sustained deep-space exploration programme, Al Awadhi said.
"The infrastructure, talent, and industrial capacity being built through EMA are designed to support a long-term pipeline of deep-space missions. The ambition is not limited to a single spacecraft exploring the asteroid belt."
It is about building the foundations for a future in which Emirati scientists and engineers continue to explore deeper into the solar system.
"The hope is that a young Emirati watching the MBR Explorer launch in 2028 may one day lead a mission even further into space, building on the capabilities being established today," Al Awadhi said.
