At a meeting in Abu Dhabi yesterday (12th June), NASA and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed an agreement to become space-faring collaborators with the mutual aim of working together in the exploration and peaceful use of outer space for the benefit of humanity.
“NASA is leading an ambitious journey to Mars that includes partnerships with the private sector and many international partners,” said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, who formalised and signed the agreement with UAE Space Agency Chairman Dr. Khalifa Al Romaithi.
“I am confident this
new framework agreement with the UAE Space Agency will help advance
this journey, as well as other endeavours in the peaceful exploration
of outer space. Already, technical experts from our two countries are
engaged in discussions on several areas of mutual interest, and I
believe our two agencies will collaborate for years to come through a
common interest in aeronautics, exploration and discovery.”
The agreement,
recognised by both parties as a mutual benefit to be gained from
working together, covers many aspects of the space industry from
technology, safety and mission assurance, along with Earth science,
aeronautics, space operations and exploration. In addition, the two
countries will aim to collaborate on the creation and implementation
of education and public outreach programs and exchange scientific
data via joint workshops.
As the first field of
collaboration between the two agencies, NASA and the UAE Space Agency
formalised cooperation in the exploration of Mars by signing an
Implementing Arrangement under the Framework. This will involve
establishing a joint steering group to discuss potential future
projects that contribute to exploring the Red Planet.
Missions to our martian
neighbour by NASA have recently come under scrutiny by the U.S
congress who have questioned whether such a mission is even
affordable. Nonetheless, the deal with NASA will no doubt benefit
both parties and extend the reach of the UAE to Mars, as its current
mission is limited to an unmanned probe expected to reach the Red
Planet by 2021.
Meanwhile, this is not
the first cooperative agreement the UEAs space agency has made. Last
year UAE signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Russian
Federal Space Agency “ROSCOSMOS,” along with similar deals made
with UK and China.
Speaking of the
agreement with NASA, Al Romaithi says, “the United Arab Emirates
and the United States of America are long-standing allies and have
deep economic, cultural and diplomatic ties. We at the UAE Space
Agency genuinely welcome the opportunity to collaborate and work with
the USA and NASA in the fields of aeronautics, space science, and the
peaceful exploration of outer space toward the common goal of
fostering the well-being of humankind.”
“The reason why
cooperation and collaboration are important to the UAESA is because
we believe that working alongside international partners is the best
way to accelerate the development of space technologies and the space
sector within the UAE. The space sector serves as a catalysts for
economic development and diversification, creating job opportunities
and enabling scientists and engineers to become leaders of an
industry that can bring huge benefits to our daily lives.”
