Technologies

Bold new mission to asteroid belt will study Venus and seven unknown worlds

The United Arab Emirates announces plans for an ambitious journey across the solar system.

Hot on the heels of the Hope Mars mission, the United Arab Emirates has announced it will begin building another interplanetary probe for launch in 2028, with the goal of visiting Venus and seven worlds in the asteroid belt over the next 12 years.

The mission, announced Tuesday by the vice president of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, will perform a flyby of the hellacious second planet from the sun in mid-2028, swinging around the planet on its way back past Earth and toward the asteroid belt. It will be built in the next seven years, and its journey will see it rack up more than 3.6 billion kilometers (more than 2.2 billion miles).

«The UAE is determined to make a meaningful contribution to spaceexploration, scientific research and our understanding of the solarsystem,» tweeted Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, crown prince of Abu Dhabi, on Tuesday.

The aim of the mission will be to explore seven objects in the asteroid belt, a region of space between Mars and Jupiter stacked with millions of odd-shaped rocks that orbit the sun. Objects within the belt have been studied by space agencies, like NASA, in the past, but the UAE’s ambitious mission will aim to image seven asteroids — and then touch down on one to collect a sample.

If it can achieve all that, the UAE would become the fourth country to touch down on the surface of an asteroid. It won’t be easy.

«This mission is in the order of five times more complex than EMM,» said Sarah bint Yousif Al Amiri, the chair for the UAE Space Agency, in a press release.

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As with the Hope mission, the UAE agency will work with Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado, Boulder. The name of the mission will be announced at a later date.

Venus has become an increasingly popular target for space missions in the past year. NASA plans to launch two spacecraft to the planet, and both India’s space agency and the European Space Agency are preparing their own probes to explore it, too.

While many of the Venus explorers have been discussed for years, there’s been plenty of hype about its potential habitability since a 2020 study discovered elevated levels of phosphine — a gas associated with life on Earth — in the cloud decks of the hothouse planet. Since publication, the findings have been disputed and the data reanalyzed, with a June 2021 study suggesting that the planet’s atmosphere is too dry to support microbial life.

Technologies

Resident Evil Requiem Revealed, but Where’s Leon Kennedy?

The Resident Evil 9 trailer showed off a new character, but not the much-rumored return of Leon.

After a fake-out earlier in Summer Game Fest on Friday, Resident Evil Requiem, or Resident Evil 9, was shown for the first time.

The new title is the first mainline entry since Capcom released Resident Evil Village in 2021, and is rumored to feature series stalwart Leon Kennedy. In the trailer, the only person we saw was a character named Grace Ashcroft, who works for the FBI and appears to have ties to Raccoon City.

For the most hardcore Resident Evil fans, the name Ashcroft will ring a bell. Alyssa Ashcroft was one of the survivors of the online-only title, Resident Evil Outbreak for the PS2. Alyssa was a journalist who was trapped in Raccoon City during the events of Resident Evil 2, and she, along with other survivors, had to escape the city before it was destroyed.

Grace is Alyssa’s daughter, and in the trailer, she is going to visit the Remwood Hotel, where Alyssa was murdered. Later in the trailer, images from what appears to be the remnants of a destroyed Raccoon City are shown — including the police department from RE2 — so it appears Resident Evil 9 will return to where the series started.

Leon’s (rumored) return is a big deal for the series, which has made some of its best games with him in the starring role. He first showed up as a rookie cop in Resident Evil 2, which built on the original game’s success with more story and improved monsters and level design.

He showed up again in Resident Evil 4, which took the series in a new direction by introducing an over-the-shoulder perspective, instead of the usual static camera angles and tank controls. Leon was also one of several playable protagonists in Resident Evil 6, a game that seemed to forget about its survival horror roots. We mostly don’t talk about that one.

But the 2019 remake of Resident Evil 2 was an excellent return to form, bringing RE4’s gameplay and much better graphics to a fan-favorite entry. The RE4 remake was a similar success.

Resident Evil Requiem is set to drop Feb. 27, 2026, for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series consoles, but we’re hoping to get our hands on it this weekend. If you want to catch up on older Resident Evil games, Capcom is having a sale that includes basically all the games, including Village and the three remakes.

Technologies

The Switch 2 Is Here, and I’ve Scoured the Internet for Every Accessory Available Right Now

Technologies

T-Mobile’s Free Premium iPhone 16 Pro Deal Explained. Learn Exactly How It Works

Along with a free iPhone, you can get an extra $800 to pay off your old device.

If you’re starting a new cell phone plan, most major mobile carriers require a multiyear commitment so it’s a big decision you need to consider carefully. First, think about the plan and provider itself: What’s the best coverage in your area and how many lines do you want to add? Next, compare the best mobile phone plan deals to save yourself the most money

T-Mobile has some fantastic deals right now you can take advantage of that make it a pretty competitive pick — especially for Apple fans looking to upgrade.

T-Mobile’s incentives include free lines and streaming services but one huge highlight is the chance to snag the top-rated iPhone 16 Pro free. The language on some of these offers can be a little confusing so we’ve broken down how T-Mobile’s current deals work below. Note that there aren’t any set expirations for these offers so they could vanish at any moment. We wouldn’t wait too long if you’re hoping to take advantage of these savings.

Why these deals matter

You more or less need a phone with reliable coverage these days but costs can add up quickly. Whether you’re looking to upgrade your mobile device or shopping for the best family plans, these T-Mobile deals can help save you some serious cash each month.