Bahrain joins Artemis Accords

by

Light-1
Bahrain’s first satellite, a 3U cubesat called Light-1 developed in cooperation with the U.A.E., was deployed from the ISS in February. Credit: NASA

WASHINGTON — Bahrain became the latest country to join the Artemis Accords as the agreement regarding principles for cooperation in space exploration continues to expand beyond traditional spacefaring nations.

Mohamed Al Aseeri, head of the National Space Science Agency of Bahrain, signed the Accords March 2 during the U.S.-Bahrain Strategic Dialogue. While the signing was briefly mentioned as part of those meetings, it was not formally announced by NASA and the State Department until March 7.

“I am so pleased to see Bahrain has shown its commitment to the peaceful exploration of space by signing the Artemis Accords,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in the agency statement about Bahrain’s signing of the Accords. The Middle Eastern country is the 17th to join and comes days after Romania signed on.

Bahrain is a newcomer to space, having established its space agency only in 2014. That agency has focused primarily on space applications, rather than exploration. The country’s launched its first satellite, a cubesat jointly developed with the United Arab Emirates called Light-1, on a SpaceX Dragon cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station in December 2021, where it was deployed in early February. The three-unit cubesat is designed to study flashes of gamma rays produced in the atmosphere.

Bahrain has not announced any plans to participate in space exploration activities associated with the Artemis lunar exploration campaign. However, one of the agency’s goals listed on its website is “encouraging the Kingdom to become a party in international conventions and agreements of space science and associated technological concepts.”

A former NASA official who helped spearhead development of the Artemis Accords in 2020 welcomed the addition of Bahrain to the agreement. “Bahrain is an excellent example of how the Accords are expanding the benefits of Artemis to a new and diverse set of international partners,” said Mike Gold, former associate administrator for space policy and partnerships at NASA and currently executive vice president for civil space and external affairs at Redwire Space.

“More than ever, the world needs a global commitment to peaceful norms of behavior in space that the Accords represent,” he said, “and I applaud the Department of State, NASA, and the Vice President in particular, for focusing on this issue and keeping the light of hope and optimism that global space exploration represents shining so brightly even during these dark times.”

Note: This article have been indexed to our site. We do not claim legitimacy, ownership or copyright of any of the content above. To see the article at original source Click Here

Related Posts
Your Clothespins Can Tell You When to Do Laundry thumbnail

Your Clothespins Can Tell You When to Do Laundry

Photo: New Africa (Shutterstock)This is a safe space where you can admit you don’t wash every article of clothing every time you wear it. In fact, it’s a space where we can celebrate your decision to waste less water and not traumatize your fabric’s delicate fibers. The thing about not washing clothes after every wear
Read More
Animals That Take Advice From Bacteria thumbnail

Animals That Take Advice From Bacteria

Pity the poor tubeworm, whose life is fraught with risk. Like many marine invertebrates, the worm spends its earliest days as a tiny larva drifting in the plankton — but sooner or later, it must choose a place to settle down. Once cemented to a hard surface, it begins the massive shape change called metamorphosis,…
Read More
How Old Is the Oldest Sea Turtle? thumbnail

How Old Is the Oldest Sea Turtle?

One of the recurring questions in Disney’s Finding Nemo is: How old are sea turtles? Offscreen, Nemo is originally told by a classmate that they can live to be 100 years old. But upon meeting Crush, the surfer dude-esque sea turtle, Nemo’s dad finds out that Crush is “hundred and fifty dude, and still young!” While…
Read More
Logic-defying 'bottom blooms' could sustain hidden ecosystems in Arctic and Antarctica thumbnail

Logic-defying ‘bottom blooms’ could sustain hidden ecosystems in Arctic and Antarctica

Home News A surface phytoplankton bloom in the Ross Sea in Antarctica captured by NASA's Aqua satellite on Jan. 11 2011. New research suggests blooms like this may also exist further beneath the surface in both of Earth's polar regions. (Image credit: NASA Earth Observatory/Norman Kuring,/Goddard Space Flight Center) (opens in new tab)Logic-defying phytoplankton blooms
Read More
How to Tell If Your Child Has Oppositional Defiant Disorder thumbnail

How to Tell If Your Child Has Oppositional Defiant Disorder

Every child tests limits and misbehaves, often by going against a parent, teacher, or caregiver’s wishes. However, consistent, intense defiance is sometimes classified as Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), a behavior disorder most often diagnosed in children. If you have a particularly uncooperative child and are wondering if this is a phase or a sign you
Read More
Index Of News
Consider making some contribution to keep us going. We are donation based team who works to bring the best content to the readers. Every donation matters.
Donate Now

Subscription Form

Liking our Index Of News so far? Would you like to subscribe to receive news updates daily?

Total
0
Share