Thiruvananthapuram-based HEX20 is set to hand over its satellite to the UAE Space Agency this month for a five-billion-km asteroid mission. The probe will explore asteroid 269 Justitia by 2036. Co-founder M B Aravind said, “Justitia is a relatively less-explored asteroid, and we are planning for a hard landing there.”
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A satellite of Malayali origin is preparing for a journey of nearly five billion kilometres, carrying with it a piece of Keralam’s growing space-tech ambitions -- to an asteroid between Mars and Jupiter, but for the UAE!
After the successful launch of two satellites into space, the Thiruvananthapuram-based space-tech firm HEX20 is all set to hand over its satellite to the UAE Space Agency this month. The satellite, EMA Probe, which was developed in the firm’s facility at the UAE’s Masdar city, will explore asteroid 269 Justitia by 2036, according to HEX20 co-founder and chief operating officer M B Aravind.
Developed to meet the requirements of the UAE Space Agency, the satellite took over two years to build. HEX20 was selected by the Technology Innovation Institute (TII) and the UAE Space Agency in November 2024, following a design workshop to build the asteroid probe spacecraft, becoming the first private Indian company to be onboarded for a deep-space mission by the Gulf nation. After nearly two years, the satellite has reached the final stage of preparation.
“The satellite we have prepared will be handed over to the UAE this month, after which it will be sent to the US for integration with a larger spacecraft. After testing, the integrated unit will be launched through Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) by 2028, as per the current schedule,” Aravind told TNIE.
The larger spacecraft, MBR Explorer, is scheduled to travel nearly five billion kilometres over eight years to reach the asteroid belt. Along the way, it will fly past six asteroids before reaching its final target, 269 Justitia.
Once the explorer enters orbit around the asteroid, the probe developed by HEX20 will separate and descend autonomously towards the surface, capturing images and transmitting them for scientific study.
“Justitia is a relatively less-explored asteroid, and we are planning for a hard landing there,” Aravind added.
Justitia’s unusual reddish target has always drawn scientific interest. Studying its surface could provide clues about organic material and the distribution of water and other volatile substances during the formation of the Solar System. The spacecraft bus and software for the asteroid probe developed by the company were unveiled before UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, marking a significant milestone for the Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt.
The onboard computer and power systems were developed by the team in Thiruvananthapuram and Abu Dhabi and will mark the farthest a hardware developed in Keralam travelled in the cosmos.