Emirates Mars & Asteroid Mission
UAE's ambitious space exploration program. The Hope (Al-Amal) orbiter arrived at Mars in Feb 2021, producing the first complete weather map of Mars' atmosphere. UAE is now developing an asteroid belt mission (MBR Explorer) to visit 7 asteroids and land on one, with launch planned for 2028. The UAE also has a national astronaut program — Hazzaa Al Mansoori and Sultan AlNeyadi both flew to ISS.
Budget
~$200M (Hope); $300M+ (asteroid mission)
Timeline
2020–2034
Key Milestones
Hope orbiter entered Mars orbit — first Arab interplanetary mission
2021 — Feb
Sultan AlNeyadi — first Arab long-duration ISS mission (6 months on Crew-6)
2023
Hope completed primary science mission; extended operations approved
2024
MBR Explorer launch — asteroid belt mission visiting 7 asteroids
2028
Asteroid landing and sample analysis
2034
Contractors
Sources
- mbrsc.ae
- uaespaceagency.ae
- spacenews.com