Scientists and engineers with the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) from the University of Colorado Boulder are collaborating with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Space Agency for another space project that will help humans adapt to space. The team plans to launch a robotic space station in 2028 when Venus and Earth align and reach the asteroid about 350 million miles away. They hope to uncover the beginnings of the Solar System and allow future interplanetary travel.
Asteroid Robotic Spacecraft
“The asteroid belt is an exciting research opportunity that encompasses LASP’s science, engineering, and mission operations capabilities all the while aligning with the UAE Space Agency’s aspirations to advance our understanding of our solar system,” says LASP Program Manager Pete Withnell. “This new mission will build on our successful knowledge partnership between engineers and scientists in both countries and offer many opportunities for developing new, cutting-edge technologies.” He added that any scientific understanding that humankind could have regarding its environment, including the Solar System, will make humans a better space-faring species as it will allow humans to leave the planet someday when Earth becomes a hostile place to live.
UAE Space Agency chair Sarah Al-Amiri said that they hope their joint project with the engineers from CU will help create a private sector in space science. This is not the first time that engineers from both parties have also collaborated in designing UAE’s Amal (Hope) Mars spacecraft that was launched in February 2021.
Setting up a space station on an asteroid is not an easy feat. If it is indeed a stable and hard asteroid, then building a space station might be possible. The asteroid would need to be carefully monitored as it is mined in case its rotation would affect the space station and put it in danger of falling apart. Article courtesy of University of Colorado LASP.