Expo 2020 Dubai: Countries must work together to bring space benefits to all, say experts

Dubai - Top scientists, cosmonauts take part in a World Majlis as part of Space Week.

Experts in the space sector have called for multilateral collaboration and regulatory frameworks to ensure that space exploration benefits all humanity and remains safe for all participants. Top scientists and cosmonauts took part in a World Majlis as part of Expo 2020 Dubai’s Space Week.

The panellists in the discussion, ‘Using Space for the Benefit of all Humanity’, organised in collaboration with Italy and Portugal, agreed that space exploration – and satellites in particular – had brought incredible benefits to humanity.

Drawing attention to ‘overcrowding’ in space, Sergei Krikalev, the executive director for Human Space Flights, State Space Corporation ‘Roscosmos’ of Russia and former cosmonaut said that the increasing trend of sending humans into space was fraught with danger. “There is a need for developing traffic rules, just as we have for road and air traffic. We also need to share resources that are already in space instead of each mission carrying more equipment,” he said.

Professor Steven Freeland, professor of International Law at Western Sydney University, Australia, said, “We must remember that sustainability in space and earth are interlinked. The human factor should remain at the heart of space exploration. The only way to ensure the equitable sharing of benefits is through multilateral cooperation.”

In the meanwhile, Ibrahim Al Qasim, space science advisor at the UAE Space Agency, said, “The UAE is a new entrant in the space exploration field. This is part of our efforts to diversify our economy. We believe this will enable our youth to engage in space-related activities. We are aware of the challenges, but we still believe that space is a fantastic platform for international collaboration.”