UAE-built asteroid probe reaches flight readiness for 5-billion-kilometre mission
The UAE says its locally developed probe is ready to join the MBR Explorer, which is due to launch in March 2028 and visit seven asteroids. The mission’s final target is 269 Justitia, where the probe will attempt an autonomous landing; for the UAE, it is also a test of local engineering and deep-space operations.
Bottom line — The March 2028 launch window is about 21 days; UAE officials say missing it could delay the mission by 100 years.
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Economy Middle East reports that more than 150 engineers and scientists worked across the mission, and the probe reached flight readiness less than two years after development began.
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Scientific American says the spacecraft will make gravity-assist flybys of Venus, Earth and Mars before its asteroid encounters.
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Gulf News reports that the spacecraft will operate without remote control, making reliability and autonomous decision-making central to the mission.
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According to Economy Middle East, 50% of work on the wider mission has been allocated to UAE-based private-sector companies.
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Gulf News says officials describe 80% of the current mission as being done by UAE engineers, with fuller local development an ambition for a future mission.