Q&A – What Emirates’ MBR Explorer Mission Will Teach Us About The First Solar System

The Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt (EMA) – also known as MBR Explorer – which is being planned by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Space Agency aims to send a spacecraft through seven asteroids, especially the strange rock (269) Justitia. Although the project is still six years away, SpaceRef met with mission director Hoor Al Mazmi to discuss the mission, its goals, and how it will contribute to understanding astronomy.

The MBR Explorer mission was publicly discussed at the Universities Space Research Association’s Asteroids, Comets, Meteors Conference (ACM) held in Flagstaff, Arizona from June 18 to 23, 2023. Of particular interest is the mission’s focus on (269) Justitia, a red mainly due to the presence of matholins, or organic compounds, on its surface. The 2021 announcement that Justitia contains tholins was unexpected because tholins are abundant in distant Neptunian objects across Neptune’s path; Justitia orbits in the great asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

EMA wants to reveal the history of Justitia and re-examine all seven asteroids, which are believed to contain water. The project will examine each stone’s condition and temperature with the aim of learning more about their history.

Besides Justitia, other asteroid targets are (10254) Westerwald, (623) Chimaera, (13294) Rockox, (88055) 2000 VA28, (23871) 1998 RC76, and (59980) 1999 SG6. Most of these are small interstellar objects, only about 10 kilometers in diameter, while Justitia and Chimaera are about 50 kilometers across.

The MBR Explorer mission is expected to be launched in about six years (around 2029) and spend seven years flying to the main asteroid belt, including flybys of Venus, Mars, and Earth for rapid accretion along the way. Some of the space inventions will be informed by the successful Emirates Mars Mission, which reached the Red Planet in 2021 and is still in operation. The six flights are expected to last between two and 12 hours (depending on location), while the UAE Space Agency has budgeted seven months for Justitia to meet.

Tools that can be included include:

• A mid-wavelength infrared spectrometer from the Italian Space Agency (ASI);
• The most advanced camera is a thermal infrared camera from Malin Space Science Systems;
• A thermal infrared spectrometer from Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University, based on the design of the EMIRS (Emirates Mars Infrared Spectrometer) instrument designed for the Emirates Mars Mission.

For more information about the MBR Explorer project, SpaceRef spoke to Hoor Al Mazmi’s executive director via email. The conversation, lightly edited, is below.

SpaceRef: How do EMA’s scientific goals relate to other studies of large asteroids, especially those studying their locations?

Ola Al Mazmi: There is almost no limit to the possibilities of this work. This includes learning more about the large belt asteroids we are heading towards. Five are from large families [of asteroids] and [we plan on] based on the findings of the meteorites found on Earth, analyzing the asteroids’ presence of water and other non-volatile substances. [We will also] look very carefully at (269) Justitia, which could be a TNO (Trans-Neptunian Object, beyond the path of Neptune) that has moved to the main belt. This project is designed to significantly improve our understanding of large belt asteroids, their origin and evolution, and their potential as resources for future missions. From the reception of mission objectives and science objectives at ACM last week, it seems that the scientific community shares our excitement.

SR: How can these findings add to our understanding of the history of the planets?

SHEEP: It’s really about ‘back to basics.’ We believe that the building blocks of life are tied to the elements of asteroids, and that these elements come from the origin of the solar planets. Hidden within them are clues, even answers, not only to how our solar system formed, but also to the origins of life itself. That is a 4 to 5 billion year old story that we would love to unpack and tell. We see asteroids as crucial to unlocking the story, like the Rosetta stone.

Justitia, in particular, is an interesting target for study because it may have come – migrated – from beyond Neptune, and is likely to contain pre-biotic organic compounds. However, it is possible to learn easily. Getting to know Justitia could change our understanding of the origins of water on Earth and other terrestrial planets. We want to stay close to this most mysterious of millions of giant asteroids.

SR: What are EMA’s scientific goals and how do they relate to the history of Earth, and asteroids?

SHEEP: EMA will develop a greater understanding of the major characteristics of the asteroid belt, its origin, formation, and evolution. It has the potential to open new windows to our understanding of the formation of our sun, and the existence and origin of water-rich asteroids in the main asteroid belt. But we also hope to be able to lay the groundwork for future rocket launches from asteroids, to eventually support long-term human space missions.

We set out to answer three key questions: Where did the water-rich asteroids form? Does it match real meteorites? What do their chemical abundances and fluctuations tell us about the evolution of our planetary system?

In addition to those goals, we are collecting remote sensing data on a wide variety of asteroids to better evaluate their potential as material deposits, for future deep exploration. Therefore, we are looking at the sources of the building blocks of life, and also looking at the building blocks of future missions.

As for our understanding of the Earth, we hope to advance our understanding of where our water came from – and help advance our map of where we’re going. [in terms of evolution]. These may seem like lofty goals, but that’s what we’re thinking about right now.