DUBAI: The UAE has unveiled plans to send a spaceship to explore the main asteroid belt that lies between Mars and Jupiter in a new space mission. Dubbed MBR Explorer, the spaceship would be expected to launch within a three-week period in March 2028.
Unveiling details on Monday, the UAE said the spaceship would travel 5 billion km on a voyage to help understand the foundation of the solar system and seek clues to life’s origins found in the asteroid belt.
It will pass Mars to explore seven asteroids in the main asteroid belt before finally deploying a landing craft on one of the asteroids in 2034. The 13-year mission “will cover 10 times the distance” travelled by the ‘Hope Probe,’ which the UAE launched in 2021 to provide new insight into Mars, tweeted Vice President Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum. –Agencies
