This was reported by The New York Times on Monday, Ukrinform reports.

“The asteroid belt mission was challenging enough. In this context, interesting research and good opportunities for collaboration with the scientific community,” said Sara al-Amiri, head of the United Arab Emirates Space Agency.

The spacecraft is scheduled to launch into the asteroid belt in 2028. It will be named MBR Explorer in honor of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, ruler of Dubai and Prime Minister of the UAE. According to the plan, the device will reach the asteroid Westerwald, which is more than two kilometers in diameter and is moving at more than 30 thousand kilometers per hour, in February 2030. After that, the ship will reach six more objects in the arch asteroids between Mars and Jupiter, including the relatively large asteroid Justicia, about 50 kilometers in diameter.

According to scientists, this will make it possible to better see the surface of asteroids, understand their internal density and structure, as well as confirm theories about their origin.

As reported, the UAE launched the “Al-Amal” (“Hope” – ed.) space probe to study Mars in July 2020. The main task of the probe is to study daily changes in climate due to seasonal cycles, weather events in the lower atmosphere, such as storms, as well as weather changes in different parts of the planet.

These studies should bring scientists closer to the answer to why the Martian atmosphere is losing hydrogen and oxygen, as well as causing drastic changes in the planet’s climate.