UAE to launch probe targeting asteroid between Mars, Jupiter

By JON GAMBRELL
Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United Arab Emirates has announced plans to send a probe to land on an asteroid between Mars and Jupiter to collect data on the origins of the universe. The announcement on Tuesday marks the latest project in the oil-rich federation’s ambitious space program. The project targets a 2028 launch with a landing in 2033. It will be a five-year journey in which the spacecraft will travel some 3.6 billion kilometers, or 2.2 billion miles. The UAE’s Space Agency said it will partner with the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado on the project. It declined to immediately offer a cost for the effort.