MBR Explorer

The MBR Explorer is the spacecraft of the Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt, led by the UAE Space Agency.^[1] The mission aims to understand the origins and evolution of water-rich asteroids and to assess their resource potential.^[1]

The mission

The program is planned to last about 13 years: six years of spacecraft development, then a seven-year flight to the main asteroid belt beyond Mars.^[1] The MBR Explorer is scheduled to launch in March 2028, within a three-week launch window, on an H3 rocket from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.^[1] Gravity assists at Venus, Earth and Mars are to shape its path.^[1]

The spacecraft is to fly past six asteroids, the first, Westerwald, in February 2030, followed by Chimaera, Rockox, 2000 VA28, 1998 RC76 and 1999 SG6.^[1] It is then to rendezvous with the asteroid (269) Justitia for about seven months of mapping and, in 2034, release a lander to collect data from its surface.^[1] Justitia and Chimaera are each nearly 50 km across, while five of the targets are smaller than 10 km.^[1]

Why Justitia

Justitia looks very red in the infrared, more like objects in the outer solar system than its neighbors in the asteroid belt, which is a key reason it was chosen.^[1] The UAE Space Agency completed the spacecraft's critical design review in February 2025, moving it toward assembly and testing.^[2] Other missions touring the asteroid belt include NASA's Lucy and Psyche.