UAE taps Japan’s MHI for Asteroid Mission

Asteroid exploration is not for the faint of heart, and the latest mission announced in a long line of asteroid explorers does not shy away from a challenge. The UAE has become the latest nation to set their sights on asteroids close to home, with an ambitious mission lined up to explore not one, but 7 Near Earth Asteroids. In a joint meeting between UAE and Japanese space programs, the United Arab Emirates announced that they will launch this ambitious mission later this decade on a Japanese H3 rocket, another crucial win for the nascent launch system.

The spacecraft, known as MBR Explorer after Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, will fly by six main belt asteroids between 2030 and 2033 before rendezvousing with a seventh in 2034 – Justitia. After arrival at Justitia, the spacecraft will deploy a lander to investigate the surface. The UAE Space Agency has not been forthcoming with updates about the development of MBR Explorer since outlining details about the mission more than a year ago, but seems eager to meet the 2028 launch date. The agency said in July that it completed a mission concept review but did not disclose any new information about the mission or the spacecraft, ranging from spacecraft mass to mission cost. Much of the mission resembles the profile of the Lucy mission, launched by NASA in 2021 – flying by multiple asteroids to survey the fossils of the solar system. This multiple flyby mission represents a significant shift in complexity from the agency’s previous work on the Emirates Mars Mission, which remains healthy in orbit around Mars. 

The UAE Space Agency, headquartered in Abu Dhabi, announced Oct. 10 it selected Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to launch its Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt (EMA) on an H3 rocket in the first quarter of 2028, continuing to honor a long standing agreement between the two nations on space collaboration.This mission is the third that the UAE has selected MHI to launch. Previously, an H-IIA rocket launched the Emirates Mars Mission, a Mars orbiter, in 2020, while KhalifaSat, a remote sensing satellite, launched as a secondary payload on another H-IIA in 2018.

Both parties expressed a deep gratitude for the other in a series of joint statements, highlighting the strong relationship between the space agencies of the two nations. “We have high expectations for the H3 launch vehicle, given its enhanced capabilities and MHI’s commitment to precision and excellence,” Mohsen AlAwadhi, EMA mission director, said in a joint statement about the arrangement. “This partnership represents not only the next step in the UAE’s journey into deep space but also a testament to our confidence in MHI’s technology and expertise.”

“We are very excited to support the project as the launch services provider,” said Iwao Igarashi, vice president and senior general manager of space systems at MHI, in the statement. “MHI is committed to delivering the MBR Explorer to orbit successfully and providing a smooth start of the UAESA’s new journey to deep space.”

The UAE has seen a tremendous investment into space as the nation aims to compete on a global stage, setting new precedents for exploration outside of the traditional paradigm. The small Middle Eastern nation has seen significant contributions to a variety of global space programs, aiming to build cooperative relationships with established space players such as the United States, Japan and Europe. Notably, the UAE was selected to build the airlock for the Artemis Program’s Gateway lunar space station – a critical staging point for missions to the lunar surface beginning in the latter half of this decade. This latest cooperation on Gateway builds on NASA’s and UAE’s previous human spaceflight collaboration. In 2019, Hazzaa Almansoori became the first Emirati to fly to space during a short mission to the International Space Station, launching on a Russian Soyuz vehicle. A second Emirati astronaut, Sultan Al Neyadi, launched to the space station in 2023 onboard Crew-6 as part of Expedition 68/69.

The award comes as MHI also seeks to increase launch operations of the H3, which has performed two successful flights so far this year after a failed inaugural launch in 2023, with its next launch scheduled for late October launching the Kirameki 3 communications satellite. Nobuyuki Shiina, deputy general manager for space systems business development at MHI, said in September that MHI wanted to increase the vehicle’s launch rate from six a year to eight but did not give an exact timetable for doing so. H3’s latest configuration, with 4 solid rocket motors on the core stage, will debut in 2025 with the HTV-X cargo vehicle. The launch vehicle represents a significant shift in operations for Japan as it seeks to enter a more competitive global market, competing with organizations such as Arianespace and ULA as the launch ecosystem changes around the world. Outside of the international attention the vehicle has received in recent months, the H3 vehicle is an attractive domestic option for JAXA and the Japanese military, and has received awards for International Space Station logistics flights with HTV-X and the Quazi-Zenith Satellite System military network. This, coupled with future planetary science missions like the MBR Explorer, will cement the vehicle as a tremendously important national asset for Japan, potentially bridging the gap to give international competitors a run for their money. 

With this new cooperative framework, the UAE and Japan seek to expand their reach in an increasingly global space market. By looking beyond Earth, both parties can flex their technical muscles, demonstrating both crucial space capabilities and vital partnerships—essential for scientific and technical success in an increasingly multipolar world.

Edited by Beverly Casillas