The Grand Duchy’s ambitions have been reinforced by its choice of partners. A Luxembourgish delegation, including representatives of the Luxembourg Space Agency and the Minister of the Economy Etienne Schneider, visited Washington DC on Tuesday to take part in the 70th International Astronautical Congress.
At the congress, the LSA signed two documents reinforcing its collaboration with NASA and the German Space Agency. Alongside the United States, Luxembourg is one of the first countries to put exploiting space resources into legislation. On Tuesday, both countries reinforced their collaboration by signing a joint statement detailing “a number of potential areas for future collaboration such as space applications, space exploration and utilization, including the sustainable utilization of space resources, as well as sharing of scientific data and education.” The agreement reinforces the Memorandum of Understanding signed in May 2019.
At the same time, Luxembourg co-signed a letter of intent for space research collaboration with Germany. This entails navigation, satellite communications, or even robot collaboration. The LSA’s president highlighted that their German counterparts have been a long-term partner and the two wish to continue to develop their activities researching using spacial resources to benefit all.
Luxembourg has been active in the domain of outer space since 1985, when SES was founded. 20 years later, Luxembourg joined the European Space Agency as a member.
In 2016, the country expressed its economic interest in space mining and exploring the use of space resources on earth, at which point the government provided a legal framework for space mining.
NASA and LSA to further deepen US-Luxembourg co-operation in space (22.10.2019)
Communicated by: Luxembourg Space AgencyIn May 2019, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Space between the Governments of the United States of America and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg designated both NASA and LSA to exchange information about prospective collaboration. Based on this MoU, NASA Administrator James. F. Bridenstine and LSA Chief Executive Officer Dr. Marc Serres signed at the 70th International Aeronautical Congress in Washington DC a joint statement of intent to further deepen US-Luxembourg co-operation in space.
Administrator Bridenstine and Chief Executive Officer Serres acknowledged the steps taken in the United States and in Luxembourg to advance opportunities for the commercial use of space. They noted that these developments have set the stage for fruitful collaboration in areas of mutual interest, particularly in the context of NASA’s priority on returning humans to the surface of the Moon by 2024 through the Artemis program, and its plans to establish the basis for a long-term human presence there by 2028, with a view towards human exploration of Mars.
They also underlined the potential these initiatives have for space resources exploration and utilization as well as for private sector entities and public private partnerships to contribute to the exploration and utilization of the Moon, Mars, and other celestial bodies. Chief Executive Officer Serres emphasized that LSA places a great importance on its aim to contribute to the peaceful exploration and sustainable utilization of space resources for the benefit of humankind.
The joint statement signed on October 22, 2019 between NASA and LSA details a number of potential areas for future collaboration such as space applications, space exploration and utilization, including the sustainable utilization of space resources, as well as sharing of scientific data and education.
The agencies will continue to explore these areas through technical and programmatic discussions with the objective of identifying potential collaboration. In parallel, NASA and LSA intend to pursue a Framework Agreement as a means of facilitating future collaboration between the two agencies.
About LSA:
The objective of the Luxembourg Space Agency (LSA) is to develop the space sector in Luxembourg by fostering new and existing companies, developing human resources, facilitating access to funding and supporting academic research. The agency implements the national space economic development strategy, manages national space research and development programs, and leads the SpaceResources.lu initiative. Furthermore, the LSA represents Luxembourg within the European Space Agency and space-related programs of the European Union and the United Nations.
