Bahrain Signs Artemis Accords
Bahrain has become the 17th nation to sign the Artemis Accords, a U.S.-created set of principles designed to guide the exploration of the moon, Mars and other extraterrestrial bodies.
Bahrain News agency reports:
The CEO of the National Space Science Agency (NSSA), Dr Mohamed Ebrahim Al Aseeri explained that joining the Artemis Accords will open the door to new opportunities for cooperation and investment in the field and will facilitate the exchange of expertise among its signatories. He said that these efforts will assist in achieving the NSSA’s objectives, chief among which is raising the profile of the Kingdom regionally and internationally.
Dr. Al Aseeri added that this step will enable enhanced training and research opportunities for the Kingdom and will facilitate the exchange of space-related data and various projects of economic significance.
In addition to the United States and Bahrain, the accords have been signed by Australia, Brazil, Canada, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, South Korea, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.
2 responses to “Bahrain Signs Artemis Accords”
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With Romania having done so a mere five days ago, that makes this the second additional nation to sign the Artemis Accords this month – and there are still more than three weeks left in March. It would be difficult to avoid the conclusion that recent Russian shenanigans anent space agreements in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine likely played a major role in the geopolitical calculations of both Romania and Bahrain. Simply put, the Russians have now amply demonstrated that no agreement with them about anything is worth the paper it is printed on.
By virtue of their recent coziness with Beijing, the Russians have likely managed to splash some of their blight onto the PRC’s space escutcheon as well. The PRC will, I think, find it far more difficult hereafter to line up compliant stooges to provide a Potemkin facade of internationalism for its space efforts. If additional ESA nations, in particular, continue to sign the Artemis Accords, the nascent ESA “cooperation” with the PRC on space matters may quickly unravel.
Good to see that the Artemis Accords are moving forward.