The Technology Innovation Institute has completed a specialized probe designed to crash into the 58-kilometer-wide asteroid 269 Justitia during the Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt, marking a deep-space milestone for the UAE space program ahead of a scheduled 2028 launch.
The United Arab Emirates is taking a direct approach to studying one of the solar system’s most mysterious space rocks. Developed entirely in Abu Dhabi, a gold-wrapped landing probe built by the Technology Innovation Institute (TII) will soon travel to Colorado, United States, for final integration with the MBR Explorer spacecraft.
Unveiled at an October 1 press conference in Abu Dhabi, the deployable payload represents a technological leap for the nation. Najwa Aaraj, Chief Executive Officer of the Technology Innovation Institute (TII), is present at Abu Dhabi’s Advanced Technology Research Council on October 1, 2026, for the presentation of the UAE-built EMA Probe—a deployable payload for the Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt (EMA) engineered to touch down on the surface of asteroid 269 Justitia. Anton Ivanov, executive director of TII’s Propulsion and Space Research Center, noted that while engineers initially considered a soft-landing design, strict mass limits made it unfeasible. Instead, the team designed the probe to execute a terminal crash.
Journey of Five Billion Kilometers aboard MBR Explorer
The mission will cover immense cosmic distances before reaching its destination. The MBR Explorer spacecraft will spend approximately eight years traversing the solar system, utilizing gravity assists from Venus, Earth, and Mars while conducting close encounters with six distinct asteroids in the main belt.
The main spacecraft is scheduled to launch from Japan in March 2028 during a narrow three-week window. Upon arrival at 269 Justitia, the MBR Explorer will spend roughly seven months orbiting the asteroid, descending through a series of lower orbits to map its surface and study its gravitational field.
“Every element – from the hardware and thermal design to the onboard software – has been engineered and tested for that final encounter.”
Dr. Elias Tsoutsanis, chief researcher at the Technology Innovation Institute
Autonomous Descent and Impact at 269 Justitia
Because the main spacecraft cannot safely approach within a few kilometers of the asteroid’s surface, the probe will separate during a low-altitude pass in early 2036. Operating fully autonomously with no commands from Earth or the MBR Explorer, the device will experience a ballistic descent lasting two to three hours.
Engineers expect the probe to strike the surface at velocities between 15 and 27 meters per second. While the hardware is not expected to survive the impact, its onboard batteries are designed to power operations for an additional 20 to 50 minutes if it holds together, transmitting what Ivanov described as the most important close-up picture.
All of the instruments on the spacecraft, they can only look at the very thin surface layer.
Anton Ivanov, Executive Director of TII’s Propulsion and Space Research Center
Unlocking the Secrets of a Red Asteroid
Targeting 269 Justitia offers scientists a rare window into the early solar system. The 58-kilometer-wide body is among the reddest objects ever observed in the main asteroid belt, sharing spectral characteristics with icy objects in the distant Kuiper Belt beyond Neptune.
Researchers theorize that Justitia formed in the cold outer solar system before migrating inward during planetary formation. A 2021 study suggests it may have formed near or beyond Neptune and then moved inward.
UAE Invests Billions to Develop Domestic Space Engineering
The mission sits within a broader national commitment to the UAE space sector, which has drawn AED 44 billion in investments. Developed in collaboration with the UAE Space Agency, HEX20, Khalifa University, and UAE University’s National Space Science and Technology Center, the probe showcases domestic engineering capability.
TII engineered a digital processing unit specifically for the probe. Operating as an edge artificial intelligence platform, the onboard software determines when to capture images, how many to take, and which are worth keeping during deep-space operations.