UAE Space Agency signs historic Artemis Accords

The UAE Space Agency (UAESA) has signed onto NASA’s Artemis Accords at the ongoing 71st International Astronautical Congress (IAC).

The Artemis Accords was announced in May, build on the vision of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty of the United Nations to create a secure and open atmosphere to promote exploration, research and business activities.

According to the reports, the signatories to the Accords have agreed to carry out all operations for peaceful purposes and to explain their policies and plans openly and transparently.

Besides, they will aim for interoperability following the open standard requirement, ensure the provision of emergency assistance, register space objects to help prevent harmful interference, publicly release scientific data, and try to preserve sites and items of historical significance.

They also agreed, in compliance with the Outer Space Treaty, to extract and use space resources and provide public information on the location and nature of operations, while also seeking to the conflict and minimize orbital debris where possible.

“We welcome this initiative NASA has taken to strengthen the broad principles of peaceful human exploration and co-existence in space. As a peaceful space fairing nation, the UAE is pleased to become a signatory of the Artemis Accords, and our endorsement of this agreement is in keeping with our principle of the peaceful use and exploration of outer space to enhance development and sustainability goals here on Earth”.

The signing of the accords highlights the efforts of the UAE to work with the global community to develop new and improved concepts and structures that reinforce international space exploration rules, as the team behind the mission strongly believes that the development and diversification of the space sector require the concerted efforts of all global players.

“The UAE has always been a proponent of international collaboration, and we have benefited from many partnerships as we have evolved our space program. We also make effective contributions to international efforts, to push the boundaries in our shared human knowledge and understanding of our universe”, UAE Space Agency Chair further added.

In the last few years, the UAE has made huge strides in space exploration, with an ambitious plan outline for the next few years.

UAESA has established successful relationships with over 20 space agencies since its establishment in 2014 and has developed long-standing alliances with the United Nations and foreign organizations focused on space exploration.

The Agency continues to increase the global representation of the UAE through involvement in international space organizations, including but not limited to the International Astronautical Federation (IAF), the International Space Exploration Coordination Ground, the International Committee on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (ICG), the Group on Earth Observations (GEO), the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPOUS).

The UAE recently launched the ‘Rashid’ Mission to explore the moon, which will supervise the locally developed explorer land on the surface of the moon in 2024. The lunar mission will make the UAE the fourth country to reach the moon.