UAE-built asteroid probe reaches flight readiness ahead of 2028 launch
In short
The UAE has unveiled a UAE-built probe for the Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt, saying it has reached flight readiness. The probe will fly aboard the MBR Explorer, scheduled to launch from Japan in March 2028 on an eight-year, roughly five-billion-kilometre journey that will pass six asteroids before reaching 269 Justitia in 2036. It is the mission’s only deployable payload and is designed to separate from the spacecraft and descend autonomously to the asteroid’s surface.
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The UAE unveiled a UAE-built probe for the Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt after it reached flight readiness, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, announced. Gulf News and The National reported he attended the unveiling and viewed a flight-identical model of the probe at a press conference. The probe was designed, built and tested in the UAE, with Abu Dhabi’s Technology Innovation Institute leading the work through its Propulsion and Space Research Centre. [ 1 , 2 , 4 ]
The probe will be carried aboard the MBR Explorer spacecraft, scheduled to launch from Japan in March 2028 on an eight-year journey of about five billion kilometres. The spacecraft will use gravity assists at Venus, Earth and Mars to reach the main asteroid belt, flying past six asteroids before its final encounter with 269 Justitia in 2036. The probe, the mission’s only deployable payload, will then separate and descend autonomously to the asteroid’s surface. Aletihad reported it will capture close-range images and excavate material beneath the upper layer, and that Justitia would become only the seventh asteroid reached on the surface by a probe if successful. [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]
The National reported the probe had completed vibration testing and was undergoing thermal tests. Aletihad and Economy Middle East reported it will next be sent to Colorado in the United States for integration with the MBR Explorer at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado Boulder. [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]
Officials framed the milestone around domestic capability. Faisal Al Bannai, Adviser to the UAE President for Strategic Research and Advanced Technology, said having a product did not mean having sovereignty, and that sovereignty meant knowing the technology well enough to evolve it and use it in other missions and programmes, The National reported. Sheikh Hamdan said more than 150 engineers and scientists were working as one national team, and that the probe reached flight readiness in less than two years. [ 1 , 2 , 4 ]
The Crown Prince highlighted a UAE space sector valued at more than Dh44 billion, with a target of doubling returns from the space economy by 2031 and joining the world’s ten largest space economies. Economy Middle East reported the probe reached flight readiness less than two years after the UAE Space Agency and the Technology Innovation Institute signed a development agreement in January 2025. [ 1 , 4 ]
Accounts of the announcement differ in places. The National described a press conference on Thursday, while the reports were published on 4 and 5 October; Economy Middle East said Sheikh Hamdan witnessed the launch, while Gulf News and The National said he attended the unveiling of the probe. The documents do not give the location or date of the event. [ 1 , 2 , 4 ]
Why it matters
The documents present the milestone as a step in building domestic deep-space capability: the probe was designed, built and tested in the UAE, and officials said the knowledge gained can be used in other missions and programmes. Sheikh Hamdan tied the mission to economic targets, including doubling returns from a space sector valued at more than Dh44 billion by 2031 and joining the world’s ten largest space economies. If successful, the documents say Justitia would be only the seventh asteroid reached on the surface by a probe.
Key facts
- A UAE-built probe for the Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt has reached flight readiness, according to an announcement by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- The probe was designed, built and tested in the UAE by the Technology Innovation Institute’s Propulsion and Space Research Centre. [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- It will fly aboard the MBR Explorer, scheduled to launch from Japan in March 2028 on a journey of about five billion kilometres. [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- The spacecraft will use gravity assists at Venus, Earth and Mars, fly past six asteroids and reach 269 Justitia in 2036. [ 2 , 3 ]
- The probe will separate from the spacecraft and descend autonomously to Justitia’s surface to image and excavate material. [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- More than 150 engineers and scientists are working on the mission. [ 1 , 4 ]
- The UAE space sector is valued at more than Dh44 billion, with a stated target of doubling returns from the space economy by 2031. [ 1 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- The probe was developed, assembled and tested in the UAE. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- The probe has reached flight readiness for the Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- The mission involves a journey of about five billion kilometres and a final target of the asteroid 269 Justitia. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- The spacecraft is planned to launch in March 2028 and to use gravity assists at Venus, Earth and Mars, flying past six asteroids. [ 2 , 3 ]
- Abu Dhabi’s Technology Innovation Institute led the design, construction and testing of the probe through its Propulsion and Space Research Centre. [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- The probe is the mission’s only deployable payload and is designed to descend to the asteroid’s surface autonomously. [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- The probe will be sent to Colorado in the United States for integration with the MBR Explorer. [ 3 , 4 ]
Still unclear
- Accounts of the announcement event differ: The National describes a press conference on Thursday, while the reports were published on 4 and 5 October 2026, and Economy Middle East says Sheikh Hamdan witnessed “the launch” while Gulf News and The National say he attended the unveiling of the probe. The documents describe the same event differently and do not give the date or location of the press conference.
- Aletihad describes a “landmark landing” on Justitia, while The National says the spacecraft deploys the probe and Economy Middle East says the probe descends to the surface without stating an outcome. The description of the final surface operation rests on a single outlet for the landing characterisation and is not stated identically elsewhere.
- Gulf News and Economy Middle East say more than 150 engineers and scientists are working on the mission, while Aletihad says the programme involves 20 UAE engineers. The documents do not explain whether the two figures cover the same group of people.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Gulf News publishes the announcement that the probe has reached flight readiness, citing Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. [ 1 ]
- The National reports the probe has completed vibration testing and is undergoing thermal tests, and refers to a press conference on Thursday. [ 2 ]
- Aletihad reports the unveiling and the mission profile, including a planned landing on 269 Justitia. [ 3 ]
- Economy Middle East reports the January 2025 development agreement between the UAE Space Agency and the Technology Innovation Institute and the plan to integrate the probe with MBR Explorer in Colorado. [ 4 ]