Malayali-built spacecraft for UAE asteroid mission; to travel 500 crore km in 13 years

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A spacecraft built by Malayalis will be used for a UAE mission aimed at studying the mysteries behind the origin of the solar system and the presence of water on asteroids. The ambitious mission will travel nearly 500 crore kilometres through space over a period of 13 years. The asteroid lander spacecraft was built by HEX20, a startup operating from Technopark. The company was founded by Malayalis Amal Chandran, Ashwin Chandran, M B Aravind, Anurag Raghu, and Lloyd Jacob Lopes. Amal Chandran is the CEO.

The spacecraft will be handed over to the UAE next year. It will be mounted on the Mohammed bin Rashid (MBR) Explorer Asteroid spacecraft, which weighs 2,300 kg. The launch is scheduled for 2028 from Japan using a Mitsubishi rocket. The lander will be equipped with instruments including a narrow-angle camera, a mid-wave infrared spectrometer, a thermal infrared spectrometer, and a thermal infrared camera.

The UAE Space Agency’s project, with an estimated cost of one billion dirhams (around Rs 2,425 crore), is being carried out in collaboration with universities and space research institutions worldwide, including those in Colorado, as well as with Japan as a partner country. HEX20 has offices in Australia, the US, and Taiwan. The company is currently building one satellite each for Taiwan and the UK, and has already built and delivered two satellites.

Final target: Asteroid ‘Justitia’

1. The spacecraft will observe several asteroids and transmit data during its journey. However, its final destination is the seventh and largest asteroid in the mission, named ‘Justitia’. It will take 13 years to reach this asteroid. Once it enters Justitia’s orbit, the lander will separate and remain in permanent orbit around it.

2. The spacecraft will enter the asteroid belt located between Mars and Mercury. It will first travel towards Mercury’s orbital region, then return to Earth’s gravitational field to gain speed before continuing its journey. Along the way, it will observe asteroids such as Westerwald, Chimera, and Rockox.