NASA and the UAE Space Agency (UAESA) have signed an Implementing Arrangement (IA) that outlines cooperation across a range of areas related to space exploration and human spaceflight.
The document was signed by Dr Ahmad Bin Abdullah Humaid Belhoul Al Falasi, Cabinet Member and Minister of State for Higher Education and Advanced Skills, and Chairman of the UAE Space Agency, and James Bridenstine, Administrator at NASA, during a ceremony at the 69th International Astronautical Congress, being held in Bremen, Germany between 1-5 October.
The IA falls under the overarching Framework Agreement signed by the UAESA and Nasa in June 2016, which established a framework for areas of cooperation in ground-based research; sub-orbital research; research and flight activities in low-Earth orbit (LEO); and human and robotic exploration in the vicinity of the moon, on the lunar surface, and beyond.
The new IA enables the training arrangements for UAE astronauts to be discussed. It also provides further opportunities for the UAE to utilise the International Space Station (ISS), and for the UAE Space Agency to contribute to lunar exploration.
Dr Ahmad Al Falasi said, “This significant agreement builds on our bilateral relationship with NASA and the US space sector. It also reflects the deep economic, cultural and diplomatic ties shared between the United States of America and the United Arab Emirates. The global space sector is built on international collaboration, and we welcome these substantial opportunities to work closer than ever before with our counterparts at NASA.”
