Leveraging existing electric propulsion capabilities for the Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt

The Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt (EMA), scheduled for launch in 2028, will conduct an eight-year, multi-target tour of seven main-belt asteroids, requiring over 10 km/s total delta-v and operations out to 3 AU. To meet these demands, the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP), in partnership with the United Arab Emirates Space Agency (UAESA), developed a Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) architecture integrating two Safran Spacecraft Propulsion PPS ® 5000 Hall Effect Thrusters (HETs), a single Power Processing Unit (PPU), and Xenon Flow Controllers (XFCs) with a novel dual-pressure regulation strategy. The PPS ® 5000, originally developed for commercial use, has undergone extensive qualification and lifetime testing, demonstrating a cumulative impulse of 17.24 MN·s per thruster, throttling capability from 0.3 kW to 5 kW, and operational margins supporting EMA’s power, xenon throughput, and lifetime requirements. The dual inlet-pressure XFC configuration enables precise flow control across the full thruster operating range while remaining within thermothrottle current qualification limits. System-level coupled tests confirmed full PPU–XFC–HET compatibility across the extended operating range and current environments. This heritage-unit based SEP system minimizes technical risk while delivering the efficiency, scalability, and flexibility required for EMA and future deep-space missions with similar high-delta-v needs.