NASA is an unlikely winner of the Abraham Accords – opinion

While many Israelis and Emiratis undoubtedly cheered the news, one of the biggest winners of Israeli-Emirati space cooperation is the United States.

By SPENCER KAPLAN
NASA astronaut Stephen K. Robinson is anchored to a foot restraint on the International Space Station. (photo credit: NASA/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)
NASA astronaut Stephen K. Robinson is anchored to a foot restraint on the International Space Station.
(photo credit: NASA/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)
When Israel and the United Arab Emirates signed their landmark Abraham Accords a few weeks ago, many were surprised to find a seemingly random reference to outer space buried in the annex of their deal.
Indeed, the two countries committed to the peaceful use of outer space and mutually beneficial space cooperation. Even before the two nations signed the agreement, reporter Amichai Stein of Kan News confirmed that Israel and the UAE were discussing plans to launch astronauts and satellites as part of a joint space initiative.
While many Israelis and Emiratis undoubtedly cheered the news, one of the biggest winners of Israeli-Emirati space cooperation is the United States.
Despite staggering growth in the space industry, the international community has been slow to develop norms of operation in space. For example, there is still no major global agreement on space debris mitigation, anti-satellite weapons, or lunar commercialization. As NASA prepares to send astronauts to the lunar surface in 2024, it has emphasized the latter through the Artemis Accords, a set of principles to guide international actions on the Moon. In mid-October, NASA announced the first eight countries to sign the agreement, which included the UAE.
Whether or not the Artemis Accords will succeed in setting lunar exploration norms depends on how much buy-in they generate from other spacefaring nations. There are only a handful of countries – the United States, Russia, China, India, Japan, Israel and various European states – that have attempted or are planning Moon missions this decade. However, the list expanded in September when the UAE announced it is planning missions to the Moon. By partnering with Israel, a nation that has attempted a Moon mission and is planning another, the UAE stands to gain technical and scientific knowledge that may improve its odds of a successful lunar expedition.
Although the addition of one country to the list of lunar spacefaring nations seems insignificant, even a single state can help NASA build the critical mass of nations necessary to solidify its vision of space norms. In theory, the more nations that abide by the norms, the more costly it is for a country that chooses to violate them. Since the group of lunar spacefaring countries is so small, the emergence of new lunar capabilities in any geopolitically-aligned state will help the United States build an international consensus about rules on the Moon.
DEVELOPING NORMS is critical because many nations are planning long-term, sustainable presences on and around the Moon. Whether they are visiting for scientific or commercial purposes, the absence of international standards of acceptable behavior could lead to conflict over activities like resource extraction or the disturbance of heritage sights. By securing the support of an increasingly greater proportion of lunar spacefaring countries, the United States will likely be more successful in exerting international leadership and securing stability in space, a core tenet of its National Security Space Strategy.
Of course, the benefit to NASA is contingent on the UAE and Israel sharing the United States’s perspective on lunar norms. As one of the initial signatories of the Artemis Accords and a historic partner of NASA, the UAE has already signaled its intention to follow the United States’ lead on the Moon. Israel has also demonstrated interest in working with NASA; the Israel Space Agency (ISA) agreed to expand civil space cooperation with NASA in 2015 and collaborated with NASA on a commercial lunar project in 2019. Since Israel has indicated a willingness to work with the United States in space and on the Moon before, it would not be surprising if the ISA joined its new Emirati partners in signing the Artemis Accords.
The development of the Moon is inevitable. To ensure that the Moon’s exploration, settlement and utilization are sustainable and safe, the United States is leading by building relationships and proposing responsible norms of behavior. The new Israel-UAE partnership increases the likelihood that the United States will achieve its vision for a stable and accessible Moon because collaboration between the two states could lead to more like-minded nations joining the small group of lunar spacefaring countries. As a result, when Emirati, Israeli and American astronauts freely roam the lunar surface in the future, policymakers will fondly recall the Abraham Accords as the seed of cooperation that sprouted a fruitful partnership.
The writer is a senior public policy and political science major at Duke University. He is also the founder of News of the Jews, a weekly newsletter that analyzes Jewish and Israeli news. He is also a former intern at the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ (CSIS) Aerospace Security Project. His views do not represent CSIS.


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