On October 5, local time, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President of the United Arab Emirates, Prime Minister and Chief of Dubai, announced that the country will launch a new space exploration mission. The mission mainly consists of exploring seven asteroids in Venus and the solar system, and attempting to achieve the first Arab landing on an asteroid, with the probe's range expected to reach 3.6 billion kilometers (about 7 times the range of the Hope Mars rover).
On the same day, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates and deputy commander-in-chief of the armed forces, also confirmed the new plan on social media.
According to the UAE government media office, the probe that implements the exploration mission is planned to be completed in the next 7 years, with a view to launching in 2028, and the journey of the probe will last for 5 years.
In recent years, the UAE has actively participated in space exploration, and on February 9 this year, the UAE 'Hope' Mars rover successfully entered the orbit around Mars, making the UAE the first Arab country to send an unmanned probe to Mars. (Reporter Sun Jian)