UAE announces 2nd space mission, looking for clues on how life began

The United Arab Emirates unveiled plans to send a spacecraft to the solar system's main asteroid belt. It's the latest space project by the country after the successful launch of the Hope spacecraft to Mars in 2020. The endeavor is a significant milestone for the UAE Space Agency, established in 2014.

The journey of the spacecraft would span a distance over ten times greater than Hope's Mars mission. The project aims to develop the spacecraft in the coming years and then launch it in 2028 to study various asteroids. The goal of this new project is to reach the seventh, rare "red" asteroid that may hold information on how life on Earth began.

The spacecraft is named MBR after Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid AI Maktoum. It will first make its way toward Venus. It will eventually fly as close as 150 kilometers away from the group of asteroids. The spacecraft is expected to reach the seventh and last asteroid named Justitia by October 2034. Scientists believe that Justitia potentially has a surface full of organic substances.

Arab   /’ærəb/

emirate　/'emɪərət/　/'emərət/　n)アラビアの首長の権限

unveil　/,ʌn'veɪl/　v)公表する･明らかにする

・The company unveiled its latest product during the conference.

a spacecraft   n)宇宙船

・Many countries are developing their own spacecraft to study space.

an asteroid   /'æstərɔɪd/　n)小惑星

・There are many asteroids between Mars and Jupiter.

belt   /belt/　n)ベルト、細長い地帯

launch   /lɔːntʃ/　v)ロケットなどを勢いよく送り出す、重要な活動などを開始する

n)ロケットなどの発射、活動などの開始

a milestone n)画期的な出来事･重要な地点

・The little boy's graduation is an important milestone for him and his parents.

span　/spæn/　v)時期･領域などが～にわたる  span-spaned-spaned

distance　n)距離･経過(年月)

great-greater-greatest  大きい･多数の･長期の･大変な･偉大な

in the coming years   今後数年内に

various　/'veəriəs/　/'veriəs/　/'væriəs/　adj)様々な、変化に富んだ

ruler　/'ruːlə(r)/　n)定規、支配者･統治者

Venus　/'viːnəs/　n)ローマ神話のヴィーナス、天文学の金星

eventually　/ɪ'ventʃuəli/　adv)結局は、ついに、ようやく

potentially　/pə'tenʃəli/　adv)潜在的に

・Scientists are looking for potentially useful information about outer space.

outer   adj)外の、中心から離れた

outer space   n)宇宙

substance　/'sʌbstəns/　n)物質、内容･中身

Space Mission

①Would you like to participate in a space mission?

あとどれくらい生きられるかわからない lol

I'm not sure how much longer I have to live lol.

I would definitely participate in a space mission.

②Why do you think the spacecraft MBR is named after Dubai's ruler?

スポンサー

He is one of the new project sponsors.

He is the main sponsor of the new project.

象徴

He is the perfect representation of UAE.

③Do you think space missions are important?

まるで；just like

大航海時代；Age of Discovery

～の延長線上にある；be an extension of ...

～の一歩先を行っている；one step ahead of ...

Space missions are just like Age of Discovery.

I wonder if the world will come to an end due to the influence of climate change.

Space missions are an extension of Age of Discovery.

Apparently, UAE is one step ahead of Japan.

どうやら；apparently

Milestone 

①What is the most recent milestone in your life?

②Many countries would like to reach a milestone in terms of space exploration.

in terms of ...   ...に関して　...の観点から

基地；base, military base

③What other areas should your country focus on reaching a milestone?