Abu Dhabi Institute Builds Impactor Probe for Five Billion Kilometer Asteroid Mission
“There is a possibility that this asteroid might be not only the destination, but a traveller from the past, from the early days when the solar system was forming planets,” said Dr. Elias Tsoutsanis, chief researcher from the Propulsion and Space Research Center at the United Arab Emirates’ Technology Innovation Institute (TII). The United Arab Emirates’ Technology Innovation Institute has built a deployable impactor probe designed to crash into the 58-kilometer-wide asteroid 269 Justitia, rdworldonline.com reported.
Eight-Year Trajectory and Mission Timeline to Justitia
The spacecraft carrying the probe will travel a total distance of five billion kilometers over eight years before reaching its target. According to agbi.com, the solar-powered MBR Explorer will utilize gravity assists from Venus, Earth, and Mars, enduring extreme temperature ranges from the intense heat near Venus to the deep cold of space. Along its mammoth route, the main spacecraft will conduct fly-bys of six asteroids, capturing images and collecting data. The spacecraft is scheduled to arrive at 269 Justitia in 2036, where it will spend about seven months orbiting the asteroid to map its surface and study its composition before deploying the Abu Dhabi-built probe.
Probe Impacts Asteroid at High Speed
Detaching from the orbiter, the probe will begin a two-to-three-hour ballistic descent toward the asteroid. With strict mass limits ruling out a soft-landing design and no propulsion or solar panels to slow it down, engineers expect the probe to impact the surface at speeds between 15 and 27 meters per second. As it falls, an attitude-control system will keep its wide-angle and narrow-angle cameras pointed at the asteroid to capture increasingly detailed images. If the probe survives the impact, its battery will provide 20 to 50 minutes of operational power on the surface, allowing it to transmit a final close-up picture back to the mission team.
Excavating Ancient Material Below the Asteroid Surface
Researchers plan to use the crater created by the impact to look below Justitia’s surface layer. While the instruments on the main spacecraft can only examine the thin exterior, the impactor will excavate a small crater to peek underneath, providing insight into a body that may have formed near or beyond Neptune. Justitia is among the reddest bodies in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, possessing a spectrum closely resembling icy objects in the Kuiper Belt. Scientists have suggested that the striking red hue seen on distant solar system bodies stems from organic compounds created when radiation struck surface ice. While the impactor probe focuses on shape, texture, and subsurface excavation, the main spacecraft will carry spectrometers to measure surface composition, including organic molecules and water-related minerals.
Collaboration and Testing in Abu Dhabi
The probe was collaboratively designed and constructed by specialists at TII’s Propulsion and Space Research Center alongside the UAE Space Agency, HEX20, Khalifa University, and the National Space Science and Technology Center at UAE University. Twenty UAE engineers spent just over two years developing the hardware, software, imaging, communications, and thermal systems. As of October 1, the probe was undergoing thermal-vacuum testing to simulate space conditions, followed by a full descent run on a three-axis attitude rig and a flight readiness review. The hardware is scheduled to ship to Colorado later this month for integration with the MBR Explorer. TII also developed a low-power data processing unit for the probe that consumes about three watts of power, which the institute views as an edge AI platform for defense, aerial monitoring, and autonomous exploration.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Justitia Mission
Why is asteroid 269 Justitia considered a traveler from the distant solar system?
Justitia is significantly redder than most objects in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, sharing a spectral profile closer to icy bodies in the Kuiper Belt beyond Neptune. Researchers from the Technology Innovation Institute suggest the 58-kilometer-wide rock may have formed near or beyond Neptune before migrating inward toward the sun during the early formation of the solar system.
How does this mission compare to previous asteroid impact missions?
Previous missions that deliberately struck asteroids, such as Japan’s Hayabusa2 and NASA’s DART, targeted bodies less than one kilometer across. In contrast, the UAE mission will target 269 Justitia, which is approximately 54 to 58 kilometers wide, making it a substantially larger body to investigate via an impactor.
What specific testing does the probe undergo before launch?
Before launching from Japan in March 2028, the probe undergoes thermal-vacuum testing in Abu Dhabi to simulate the harsh temperatures and vacuum of space. It is also tested on a three-axis attitude rig that rotates the probe to simulate its descent before shipping to Colorado for integration with the MBR Explorer.
“There is a possibility that this asteroid might be not only the destination, but a traveller from the past, from the early days when the solar system was forming planets,” Dr. Elias Tsoutsanis said.
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