The names of the seven asteroids the UAE plans to explore have been revealed in a paper that will be presented to a conference in the US next month.
In 2021, the UAE Space Agency announced a mission to the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter with a launch planned for 2028.
The spacecraft would fly by six asteroids and attempt a landing on a seventh. To get there, it would need gravity assistance from Earth, Venus and Mars.
The seven asteroids are 10253 Westerwald, 623 Chimaera, 13294 Rockox, 88055, 23871, 59980 and a landing attempt will be made on 269 Justitia.
The mission will be the most challenging to be undertaken yet by the UAE’s space programme, with a total journey of 3.6 billion kilometres – seven times the distance the Hope probe travelled to reach Mars in February 2021.
University of Colorado Boulder is working with the UAE Space Agency to make this mission possible, as they did with the Emirates Mars Mission.
"The mission is an exploration that will fly though the inner Solar System and then investigate asteroids in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter," the paper said.
The primary objectives of the programme are resources, technologies and fundamental science.
"Additional, high-priority objectives are innovation, public engagement and the development of space sector industry infrastructure in the UAE," the paper said.
Details of the mission are to be presented at the Asteroids, Comets, Meteors Conference in Flagstaff, Arizona, next month.
Studying a rare asteroid
The 269 Justitia is a rare asteroid beyond the orbit of Neptune that the UAE spacecraft will study.
Discovered in 1887, the space rock has a reddish hue that has puzzled scientists.
"The primary science goal is to probe the origin and evolution of water-rich asteroids, with a focus on three main questions," the paper said.
"Where did the volatile-rich asteroids form and are these asteroids linked to specific meteorites? What does their chemical inventory and volatile abundances tell us about main belt evolution?"
To answer these questions, the mission will determine the geologic history and volatile content of multiple main belt asteroids and investigate the interior structure of the rendezvous target.
It would also determine temperatures and thermophysical properties on multiple asteroids to assess their surface evolution and volatile histories.
"Using a suite of remote sensing instruments, the mission will make up-close observations of seven asteroids, including a rendezvous with (269) Justitia, a 54km diameter extremely red object with possible origins in the distant solar system," the paper said.
"Among the flyby targets are (623) Chimaera, the largest remnant of the primitive C-type Chimaera family, and members of the Baptistina, Eos, Erigone, and Euterpe families.
"Five of the seven targets are C-complex, allowing the mission to characterise a diverse set of carbonaceous bodies, some potentially rich in phyllosilicates, that form a key piece of the puzzle of early solar system formation and its subsequent dynamical evolution."
Electric spacecraft
The spacecraft will use a solar electric propulsion system for flybys, as well as gravity assistance of Venus, Earth and Mars.
The name of the spacecraft has not been revealed yet.
There will be several payloads on the spacecraft, including remote sensing instruments such as a visible narrow-angle camera, a mid-wave infrared spectrometer, a thermal infrared spectrometer and camera.
"Each of these instruments acquires data during asteroid flyby observations and during rendezvous and proximity operations with (269) Justitia," the paper said.
Through the project, the space agency hopes to boost the private space sector in the UAE.
Start-ups and established companies will build about 50 per cent of the spacecraft, helping the national economy.
For decades, space programmes were government-run, but now the private sector has become a major player.
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
The years Ramadan fell in May
Arsenal's pre-season fixtures
Thursday Beat Sydney 2-0 in Sydney
Saturday v Western Sydney Wanderers in Sydney
Wednesday v Bayern Munich in Shanghai
July 22 v Chelsea in Beijing
July 29 v Benfica in London
July 30 v Sevilla in London
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
