Arab News Japan

TOKYO: The United Arab Emirates Space Agency (UAESA) has formalized an agreement with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) to provide launch services for the Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt (EMA).

MHI, which announced the news on Friday, provides H-IIA and H-IIB launch vehicles for Japan’s space agency.

This is the third launch services agreement between MHI and the UAE, following KhalifaSat launched in 2018, and Emirates Mars Mission launched in 2020.

EMA is a 13-year mission: a six-year spacecraft development period followed by a seven-year flight to the main asteroid belt beyond Mars. The spacecraft will perform a series of close flybys to make unique observations of the main belt asteroids and land on the seventh one, Justicia.

Mohsen AlAwadhi, Mission Director for the Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt, commented: “We have high expectations for the H3 launch vehicle, given its enhanced capabilities and MHI’s commitment to precision and excellence.”

The UAE Space Agency is spearheading the development of the MBR Explorer, named in honor of Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, as part of the Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt, a successor of the Emirates Mars Mission, which is set to launch in the first quarter of 2028.

IGARASHI Iwao, Vice President and Senior General Manager of Space Systems at MHI, said: “It is our honor to provide the launch services to the UAE again for their important national mission. We are very excited to support the project as the launch services provider.”

MHI Launch Services has seen a high success rate of over 98 percent with the H-IIA and H-IIB launch vehicles. It has executed more than 50 successful consecutive launches since 2005.