Dr Jitendra Singh led the Indian delegation at the Abu Dhabi Space Debate

Tags: International Relations International News

Dr Jitendra Singh, Minister of State for Atomic Energy and Space, led the Indian delegation to the Abu Dhabi Space Debate, which began in the United Arab Emirates on 5 December. He addressed the inaugural session along with Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

Important facts

• In this two-day international meeting, Dr. Jitendra Singh participated in the Ministerial level meeting on 'Role of Foreign Policy in Enabling Space Diplomacy and International Cooperation'.

• He also discussed ways to strengthen bilateral space cooperation with Sarah Al Amiri, UAE Minister of State for Advanced Technology and Chairperson of the UAE Space Agency.

• During the conversation, Dr. Singh also discussed the joint startup venture between India and UAE on cutting edge and emerging space technology.

• The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the UAE Space Agency (UAESA) signed an MoU in 2016 regarding cooperation in the exploration and uses of outer space for peaceful purposes.

• UAE's first nanosatellite- 'Nayif-1' was launched by PSLV from Sriharikota to collect environmental space data.

UAE's achievements in the space sector

• The UAE is an emerging space power and has made rapid progress in the last 25 years of its space journey.

• In July 2020, the UAE sent its Mars mission into space named 'Hope Probe', which entered Mars orbit in February 2021.

• The UAE is the first Arab country and the sixth country in the world to achieve this feat.

• UAE is planning to launch Rasheed Rover or Emirates Lunar Mission soon.

• In September 2019, Hanzala Al Mansoori from the United Arab Emirates became the first astronaut to go into space when he went to the International Space Station (ISS) for eight days via a Russian spacecraft from Kazakhstan.

• This year, another astronaut from the United Arab Emirates was selected to travel to the ISS aboard NASA's crew rotation flight, SpaceX Crew-6, for a period of six months.

About UAE

• Capital : Abu Dhabi 

• Currency: Emirati Dirham

• President : Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan