Following the success of its mission to Mars, the United Arab Emirates plans to send a new spacecraft to an asteroid belt to investigate the history of the solar system and the potential origins of life.
Studying asteroids is an important way to learn about the history of the solar system, as the material that makes up asteroids can be almost pristine, dating back to the formation of the solar system around 4 billion years ago. Recent missions like NASA’s OSIRIS-REx and Japan’s Hayabusa2 have demonstrated the feasibility of visiting asteroids and collecting valuable scientific data.
Recommended Videos The mission will first perform flybys of six asteroids: Westerwald, Chimaera, Rockox, 2000 VA28, 1998 RC76, and 1999 SG6. It will then touch down on asteroid Justitia by deploying a lander from the main spacecraft. Justitia is particularly interesting to scientists because it is thought to have originated from beyond the orbit of Neptune, and research has shown evidence of the presence of organic molecules, or the building blocks of life, there.