UAE leads the way with asteroid missions in the Arab world.

The UAE Space Agency has announced its Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt (EMA), which is set to launch in March 2028 and fly by six asteroids in the main asteroid belt before arriving at a seventh asteroid in 2034. The spacecraft, called MBR Explorer, will weigh nearly 2,300 kilograms at launch and carry four instruments from American and Italian partners. The mission has several scientific objectives, with the primary one to study the origin and evolution of water-rich asteroids, and will conclude by rendezvousing with a seventh main belt asteroid, Justitia, in October 2034.