Signatories of the Artemis Accords, an international agreement led by the US that sets guidelines for responsible space exploration, met in-person for the first time on Monday at the International Astronautical Congress in Paris.
There are 21 signatories of the accords, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
China, Russia and India — all countries with a strong space programme — have yet to sign the agreement.
The accords aim to ensure responsible behaviour in space, especially the Moon, as countries look to launch crewed exploration missions to the its surface and to acquire lunar resources.
It is not yet legally binding and serves only as a framework for countries.
Sarah Al Amiri, Minister of State for Public Education and Advanced Technology and chairwoman of the UAE Space Agency, attended the signatories’ meeting on behalf of the UAE.
“During this meeting, heads of space agencies discussed future plans in the industry to ensure the safety of humans and deconfliction of activities on the Moon, as well as the importance of the Accords to emerging space nations,” she said.
The UAE signed the accords in October 2020 and is working towards realising its long-term Moon exploration ambitions.
Its goals include developing and launching a number of rovers and orbiters to the Moon, as well as plans to send an Emirati to the surface.
Mike Gold, the former acting associate administrator for Nasa's Office of International and Interagency Relations, in 2020 told The National that the Artemis partnership lays the groundwork for partner countries to collaborate on lunar missions.
“The UAE can, and we hope will, become a strong and robust partner in the Artemis programme,” said Mr Gold, referring to a project that seeks to establish a human base on the Moon.
“We look forward to collaborating not only on lunar rovers, but on other forms of science and orbiters, and eventually human spaceflight as well.
“The UAE is not only ambitious, but it follows ambitions with funding and actions, which is why they are such an excellent partner for us to join in this unprecedented journey of discovery that is.”
Last year, the UAE Space Agency and Nasa held meetings to discuss the Artemis programme.
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Motori Profile
Date started: March 2020
Co-founder/CEO: Ahmed Eissa
Based: UAE, Abu Dhabi
Sector: Insurance Sector
Size: 50 full-time employees (Inside and Outside UAE)
Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing
Investors: Safe City Group
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Expo details
Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia
The world fair will run for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.
It is expected to attract 25 million visits
Some 70 per cent visitors are projected to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 167-year history of World Expos.
More than 30,000 volunteers are required for Expo 2020
The site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area
It is located adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South
Can NRIs vote in the election?
Indians residing overseas cannot cast their ballot abroad
Non-resident Indians or NRIs can vote only by going to a polling booth in their home constituency
There are about 3.1 million NRIs living overseas
Indians have urged political parties to extend the right to vote to citizens residing overseas
A committee of the Election Commission of India approved of proxy voting for non-resident Indians
Proxy voting means that a person can authorise someone residing in the same polling booth area to cast a vote on his behalf.
This option is currently available for the armed forces, police and government officials posted outside India
A bill was passed in the lower house of India’s parliament or the Lok Sabha to extend proxy voting to non-resident Indians
However, this did not come before the upper house or Rajya Sabha and has lapsed
The issue of NRI voting draws a huge amount of interest in India and overseas
Over the past few months, Indians have received messages on mobile phones and on social media claiming that NRIs can cast their votes online
The Election Commission of India then clarified that NRIs could not vote online
The Election Commission lodged a complaint with the Delhi Police asking it to clamp down on the people spreading misinformation
Read more about the coronavirus
'Nightmare Alley'
Director:Guillermo del Toro
Stars:Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara
Rating: 3/5
England squad
Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Dominic Bess, James Bracey, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Ben Foakes, Lewis Gregory, Keaton Jennings, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Saqib Mahmood, Craig Overton, Jamie Overton, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Amar Virdi, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
How to report a beggar
Abu Dhabi – Call 999 or 8002626 (Aman Service)
Dubai – Call 800243
Sharjah – Call 065632222
Ras Al Khaimah - Call 072053372
Ajman – Call 067401616
Umm Al Quwain – Call 999
Fujairah - Call 092051100 or 092224411