The UAE is developing a space craft to land on an asteroid belt beyond Mars. In the presence of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of the UAE, and Chairman of the Supreme Space Council, the UAE Space Agency and the Technology Innovation Institute (TII) signed an agreement to design and develop the EMA Lander. It will be aboard the MBR Explorer, and will be deployed to study the 7th asteroid Justitia, as part of the Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt (EMA).  UAE Asteroid Belt mission The agreement was signed by Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of Sports and Chairman of the UAE Space Agency, and Faisal Al Bannai, Secretary-General of the Advanced Technology Research Council. Under this agreement, TII will lead the design, development and testing phases of the lander, as well as providing opportunities for startups’ participation in the development of the project, in line with the mission’s commitment of allocating 50 per cent of the project to UAE based companies, as it aims to create substantial economic opportunities, spur Emirati startups, and attract international partnerships. The mission spans 13 years, with a six-year spacecraft development […]