UAE Space Agency has announced a new Emirati interplanetary mission to Venus and the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, with a launch scheduled for 2028.

Whenever the UAE announces a space mission, we get a little starry-eyed. Science geeks, fans of space, and anyone who has ever looked at the desert stars and felt very small (in a good way) will love this news.

Using knowledge acquired during the Emirates Mars Mission and its Hope Probe, a spacecraft will undertake a 3.6 billion-kilometre, five-year journey, which will see it perform gravity-assist maneuvers by orbiting Venus, then Earth, in order to finally reach the main asteroid belt, located beyond Mars.

The mission’s primary aim will be to explore the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter: the source of most meteorites that impact earth.

Through its journey, the spacecraft will orbit Venus in mid-2028, followed by a close orbit of Earth in mid-2029 (hello!) it will go on to study seven main belt asteroids before its final landing on an asteroid 560-million kilometres from Earth in 2033.

This will make the Emirates the fourth nation to land a spacecraft on an asteroid.

The announcement was made during a ceremony attended by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, that took place in Qasr Al Watan Palace in Abu Dhabi.

On this occasion, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed said, “We have set our eyes to the stars because our journey to development and progress has no boundaries, no borders and no limitations. Today we are investing in the generations to come.”

“With each new advancement we make in space, we create opportunities for young people here on earth.”

His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed said, “This new mission tests and extends the capabilities of Emirati youth in achieving Zayed’s ambition to explore space. We are certain that our talented local engineers, academic and research institutions, which have so far made quantum leaps in developing our space sector, are well equipped to take on this daring new challenge.”

We’re day-dreaming about hitchhiking to the galaxy.