UAE lander targets a red asteroid & Station cargo carries final solar arrays - Space News (Oct 12, 2026)

Support The Automated Daily directly: Buy me a coffee: buymeacoffee.com/theautomateddaily Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors: - Invest Like the Pros with StockMVP - https://www.stock-mvp.com/?via=ron - Consensus: AI for Research. Get a free month - https://get.consensus.app/automated_daily - Discover the Future of AI Audio with ElevenLabs - https://try.elevenlabs.io/tad Today's topics: UAE lander targets a red asteroid - The UAE’s planned mission to seven asteroids ends at unusually red 269 Justitia. Its small probe is described as a lander, but the expected touchdown may be closer to a deliberate impact. [91] Station cargo carries final solar arrays - A cargo flight targeted for October 13 is set to bring research supplies and the final pair of additional solar arrays to the International Space Station. The delivery would complete a long-running upgrade to the station’s power system. [121][122] Antarctic winter ice peaks unusually low - NASA’s October 12 satellite-imagery update shows that Antarctic sea ice likely reached its 2026 winter maximum at the third-lowest level in the satellite record. Scientists are watching whether the recent run of low-ice years persists. [61] Episode Transcript UAE lander targets a red asteroid First, to the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. A report published today takes a closer look at the United Arab Emirates’ ambitious plan to visit seven asteroids. The mission is scheduled to launch in 2028, with its main spacecraft eventually reaching 269 Justitia, an asteroid that stands out for its unusually reddish color. Scientists suspect that Justitia may have formed much farther from the Sun before moving into the asteroid belt. If they are right, studying it could offer a close look at material from the outer solar system without sending a spacecraft all the way there. [91] The mission’s finale has an interesting twist. A small probe will separate from the main spacecraft and photograph Justitia as it descends. Although it is called a lander, the team expects it to hit the surface hard and probably not survive. That impact could still be useful: the descent images may show details too small to see from orbit, and the collision might expose material beneath the surface. This is a plan, not a result, and the encounter remains years away. But it is a reminder that, in planetary exploration, even a spacecraft’s final moments can be designed to answer a scientific question. [91] Station cargo carries fin