NASA signs cooperative agreement with UAE Space Agency

NASA officially makes the UAE Space Agency one of its international partners. Image from NASA.

The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the UAE Space Agency recently signed an agreement to cooperate and collaborate in undertaking related to space exploration.

Based on a report from The National, the agreement covers cooperation in various areas including sharing technology, education and mission assurance, among others.

The agreement also entails the joint use of scientific instruments, aircraft, research facilities on the ground, research platforms, and ground-based antennas.

NASA administrator Charles Bolden expressed the hope that the partnership, along with many other international partners, would help speed up their Mars mission, as well as the exploration of the rest of the solar system and beyond. The Mars exploration project will be the first formalized cooperative mission under the new agreement. Alfred Bayle