His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence and Chairman of the Supreme Space Council, witnessed the unveiling of a lander developed, assembled and tested in the UAE as part of the Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt.
The lander has reached flight readiness in less than two years, marking a significant milestone in the country’s space technology and engineering capabilities.
The lander is scheduled to travel aboard the Mohammed bin Rashid Explorer as part of the UAE’s second interplanetary space exploration mission. The mission will cover approximately five billion kilometres to explore seven asteroids, culminating in an encounter with 269 Justitia, its seventh and final destination.
Sheikh Hamdan commended the scientists, engineers and researchers, as well as the national entities and companies that contributed to developing the lander. He noted that completing the project in less than two years from the signing of its development agreement, through the efforts of a national team of more than 150 specialised engineers and scientists, demonstrated the capabilities of Emirati talent and the integration of the country’s research, development and manufacturing ecosystem.
His Highness said that, under the vision of the UAE’s leadership, the country had progressed within a few years from aspiring to reach space to actively contributing to its future. Since the establishment of the UAE Space Agency in 2014, the country has developed an integrated national space ecosystem, launched satellites, successfully placed the Hope Probe in Mars orbit and sent Emirati astronauts to the International Space Station. The UAE is now continuing to pursue lunar missions and increasingly advanced exploration projects.
Sheikh Hamdan recalled that His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, launched the Emirates Mars Mission in 2014. In less than two decades, the UAE has established itself among the leading countries in the space sector, and is now entering a new phase of scientific missions and advanced space industries and technologies.
He added that the UAE’s space sector is now valued at more than AED 44 billion, with ambitions to expand further. By 2031, the country aims to double space economy revenues, increase the sector’s value added by 60 per cent and position the UAE among the world’s top 10 space economies. Sheikh Hamdan emphasised that Emirati talent, knowledge, technology and advanced industries would remain central to achieving these goals and delivering benefits for the national economy, future generations and humanity.
In January 2025, Sheikh Hamdan witnessed the signing of an agreement between the UAE Space Agency and the Technology Innovation Institute (TII) for the development of the lander. Since then, the project has progressed from its initial conceptual stage to flight readiness in less than two years.
The UAE Space Agency leads and funds the Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt, overseeing its implementation in collaboration with a network of national and international partners. More than 150 specialised engineers and scientists form the national mission team, contributing to its various components.
The lander’s development reflects this integrated approach, bringing together expertise from the UAE Space Agency, TII’s Space and Propulsion Research Centre, and HEX20, a global space technology start-up that established operations in Abu Dhabi through the Agency’s Space Economic Zones Programme. Khalifa University and the National Space Science and
Technology Centre at the United Arab Emirates University have also contributed to the project.
His Excellency Dr Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of Sports and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the UAE Space Agency, said the lander’s achievement of flight readiness demonstrated the maturity and efficiency of the national space ecosystem and its ability to use ambitious missions to develop advanced technologies, strengthen collaboration between national institutions and companies, and activate specialised supply chains.
He added that, under the National Space Strategy 2031, the UAE would continue building on these capabilities through an integrated portfolio of projects and missions designed to increase the sector’s scientific and economic impact while accumulating the knowledge and expertise required to undertake increasingly sophisticated space missions.
His Excellency Faisal Al Bannai, Adviser to the UAE President for Strategic Research and Advanced Technology Affairs, Secretary-General of the Advanced Technology Research Council and Member of the Supreme Space Council, said the lander demonstrated what could be achieved by translating advanced research into engineering solutions ready for use in space missions.
He explained that teams at TII had developed a system capable of withstanding extreme conditions, operating with exceptional precision and carrying out scientific tasks billions of kilometres from Earth. The achievement, he added, highlighted the precision and advanced systems-engineering expertise required to transform research into technologies ready for interplanetary missions.
The lander is scheduled to be integrated with the Mohammed bin Rashid Explorer at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado Boulder, ahead of the mission’s planned launch from Japan in the first quarter of 2028.
During the mission, the spacecraft will travel approximately five billion kilometres to explore seven asteroids before reaching 269 Justitia. In the final phase, the lander will separate from the explorer and operate independently as it approaches the asteroid’s surface and proceeds towards touchdown.
Scientists believe that 269 Justitia may have formed in the outer regions of the Solar System before migrating to the main asteroid belt. Studying the asteroid could provide new scientific insights into how water and organic materials were distributed during the formation of the planets.
The milestone comes as the UAE continues to expand its national space ecosystem, following investments of AED 44 billion in the sector over the past decade.
The National Space Strategy 2031 aims to double space economy revenues and increase the sector’s value added by 60 per cent, while strengthening national capabilities in space research, development and manufacturing.
Alongside the Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt, the UAE is advancing several other programmes and missions that reflect the growing scope of its space ambitions. These include an international space cooperation programme valued at AED 1 billion and the Altair-Next Gen project, a UAE-French initiative worth US$1 billion to manufacture 50 AI-enabled satellites in Abu Dhabi.
Preparations are also continuing for the Rashid Rover 2 mission to explore the Moon’s far side, while the UAE remains a participant in NASA’s Artemis programme.
