Ambitious Mission from the United Arab Emirates to Fly Closely by Seven Main-belt Asteroids.

 United Arab Emirates Announces New Mission to the Asteroid Belt,     in Sky and Telescope By David Dickerson,  May 31 2023  

An ambitious new mission from the United Arab Emirates would fly closely and speedily by seven main-belt asteroids.

MBR mission  An artist's concept of MBR passing an asteroid. UAE Space Agency

The United Arab Emirates announced earlier this week its formal plans to send a mission to the asteroid belt in a grand tour past seven targets.

The working name for the mission is the Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt (MBR). That acronym echoes that of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum (MBR).

“This mission is a follow up and a follow-on to the Mars mission, where it was the first mission to Mars from the region,” says project director Mohsen Al Awadhi (UAE Space Agency). “We’re creating the same thing with this mission. That is, the first mission ever to explore these seven asteroids specifically, and the first of its kind when it's looked at from the grand tour aspect.”

A GRAND TOUR OF THE ASTEROID BELT

The mission has a three-week long launch window that opens on March 3, 2028. No launch carrier or launch site has been announced yet. For gravitational assists to the asteroid belt, the mission will first make multiple flybys past Venus, Earth, and Mars, starting with Venus in July 2028, before arriving at the first asteroid target, 10253 Westerwald, in February 2030.

UAE Space Agency

The mission will target the following asteroids: 10253 Westerwald, 623 Chimaera, 13294 Rockox, and three asteroids without official names (yet): 2000 VA28 (88055), 1998 RC76 (23871), and 1999 SG6 (59980). The UAE probe will be traveling at 20,500 miles per hour (9 km per second) and will pass just 150 kilometers (93 miles) from each target.

The climax of the mission will occur in 2034, when the spacecraft will dispatch a lander in an attempt to touchdown on the 54-kilometer-wide asteroid 269 Justitia.  ...'

Asteroid Mining

 A longtime interest, here some good background information.  Skeptical of some value analyses, but ultimately this will be done.

Asteroid Material Provides ‘Most Uncontaminated’ Extraterrestrial Samples Ever

By Ryan Whitwam   in  Extremetech

The Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) made history in late 2020 when it successfully recovered asteroid samples from the Hayabusa2 mission. Now, research carried out on the precious bits of rock is being published. Researchers from the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science Technology confirm that the bits of asteroid Ryugu collected by the probe represent “undoubtedly among the most uncontaminated Solar System materials available for laboratory study.”

Hayabusa2 made history during its mission, and not just at the end. It arrived in orbit of Ryugu in 2018, and soon after deployed a number of small tumbling and stationary robots on the surface. This returned some incredible images and preliminary data on the nature of the asteroid’s surface. It also picked up a few bits of regolith from the surface with the aid of dense tantalum slugs fired at the surface. Later, it deployed the Small Carry-on Impactor (SCI), which launched a shaped HMX explosive charge to create a small crater on the surface, revealing material unaltered by solar radiation. 

In total, Hayabusa2 picked up 5.4 grams of material from the asteroid, which was considered a huge success. NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, which is still on its way back to Earth, may contain as much as two kilograms of material. In the meantime, the new study published in Nature Astronomy confirms we have a lot to learn from the Hayabusa2 samples, reports Vice.  ... ' 

Thoughts of Mining Asteroids

Was also involved in an analysis of making this possible.  Still difficult thing to do if we cannot easily determine the value of resources there.      Not too much different from mining the earth or ocean, though the risks and costs are still far different.   Look forward to new data.   Its also been brought up much recently:  'space elevator' solutions.  

NASA debuts the spacecraft bound for the $700-quintillion Psyche 16 asteroid

Although the bottom line has been cast into doubt.  By  Chris Young

NASA's Psyche spacecraft was shown off to the world as the space agency prepares for its summer launch.

NASA showcased its Psyche spacecraft for civilians — protective smock-wearing members of the media — to see before engineers make the final adjustments and the machine is sent to Florida in anticipation of liftoff in August.

The spacecraft will launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida before making a roughly three-year trip to Psyche 16, an asteroid that could be a target for future space mining missions.

Will NASA's spacecraft uncover precious space metals?

One early estimate suggested the roughly 173-mile-wide Psyche 16 contains approximately $700 quintillion in heavy metals, though this initial analysis has been cast in doubt by follow-up studies. The initial estimate was made using spectroscopy readings, but gravitational calculations suggest the asteroid has a lower mass than would be expected from a space rock composed mainly of iron and nickel — leading some to believe it only has a thin outer coating composed of heavy metals.

The only recourse left is to actually travel to the asteroid, which is exactly what NASA will do with its Psyche mission. Now, NASA is showcasing its spacecraft to the world thanks to the press event it held on Monday, April 11, during which the asteroid-bound machine was on full display  .... '