The UAE Space Agency has announced that it has selected Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to launch the MBR Explorer interplanetary spacecraft. The terms of the contract have not been disclosed.
MBR Explorer will be the first vehicle built by an Arab country to study asteroids. The flight plan is presented as follows. MBR Explorer will be launched in early 2028. It will fly by the next six Main Belt asteroids between 2030 and 2033:
- Westerwald (diameter 2.3 km).
- Chimaera (diameter 44 km)
- Rockox (diameter 5.2 km)
- 2000 VA28 (diameter 5.4 km)
- 1998 RC76 (diameter 6.7 km)
- 1999 SG6 (diameter 8.0 km)
The final target of the mission will be the 53-kilometer asteroid Justitia. In 2034, MBR Explorer will enter a permanent orbit around it, after which it will map the small body in detail and study the chemical composition of the surface. In its final stage of the mission, the spacecraft will attempt a soft landing on the asteroid.
This is the third vehicle for the launch of which the UAE has called on the services of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Before that, H-2A rockets put the KhalifaSat remote sensing satellite into orbit and sent the Al-Amal probe to Mars.
The H3 is a new rocket that replaces the H-IIA carrier. In its most powerful configuration, it is capable of launching up to 8 tons of cargo into geostationary transfer orbit. To date, the H3 has three launches to its credit. The debut flight was an accident, the next two were successful.
According to Spacenews
