More than a year after conquering Mars, the UAE has got a new space mission.
The mission is five times more complex than the successful Emirates Mars Mission.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said the country’s latest mission would explore seven asteroids. It will even execute the first Arab landing on an asteroid.
Mission Venus
The spacecraft will travel more than seven times the journey undertaken by the UAE’s Hope probe to Mars.
The UAE Space Agency said the five-year expedition would be launched in 2028. The spacecraft for the mission would be developed in seven years, it added.
It is to be developed in partnership with the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
The mission is part of the country’s Projects of the 50th – a series of developmental and economic projects to mark the country’s Year of the 50th.
Investing in future generations
Sheikh Mohammed posted on Twitter: “A third of the stars in the sky have Arab names, because Arabs were pioneers of astronomy. Our mission is to boost the glory of the Arab civilisation. If we don’t act today, when will we?”
He said the UAE is investing in the generations to come. “With each new advancement we make in space, we create opportunities for young people here on earth.”
His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, also tweeted about the mission.
“The launch of a new project to explore Venus and the asteroid belt sets an ambitious new goal for our country’s burgeoning space programme,” he posted. “The UAE is determined to make a meaningful contribution to space exploration, scientific research and our understanding of the solar system.”
