Dozens of countries are working together to ensure that a race to the Moon does not descend into conflict as the US and China try to establish a human presence there.
Signatories to the Artemis Accords, a US-led international agreement that outlines responsible exploration, met in Sydney on Tuesday during the International Astronautical Congress, the world's largest gathering of its kind.
They discussed ways to prevent interference in missions, including the need for transparency around launch timelines, planned activities and landing sites, measures to manage orbital debris and sharing scientific data. The accords were signed in 2020 by eight founding members and now 56 countries have joined.
The UAE, which co-chaired the meeting, is a founding member. “Through our active participation in the Artemis Accords and by organising specialised workshops, we aim to reinforce the principles of transparency, sustainability and innovation in space activities,” said Dr Ahmad Al Falasi, UAE Minister of Sports and Chairman of the UAE Space Agency. “This reflects the UAE’s unwavering commitment to enhancing international co-operation in space exploration and promoting the peaceful use of space.”
Avoiding conflict on lunar surface
China is not a signatory to the accords, but co-ordination will become inevitable as more Moon missions take place, said Dr Dimitra Atri, principal investigator at NYU Abu Dhabi’s space exploration laboratory.
“As lunar traffic increases, basic co-ordination becomes unavoidable, just as it did in Earth orbit during the Cold War,” he said.
“History suggests spacefaring nations generally follow basic operational norms such as avoiding debris, frequency co-ordination and distress response, because it is in everyone’s self-interest. The real question is not if, but what mechanism they will use.”
Dr Atri said that competition between the US and China could open opportunities.
“Smaller nations gain access to lunar infrastructure, transportation and data they could not afford independently,” he said. “Multiple lunar bases actually increase options compared to a monopoly scenario.”
Who will be there first?
The US is preparing to send four astronauts around the Moon on the Artemis II mission in April 2026 as part of its goal of landing a crew on the surface this decade.
China had announced its goal to land astronauts by or around 2030, though their “plans are very secretive”, said Dr Gordon Osinski, Earth sciences professor at the Western University in Ontario, Canada.
“With this schedule and assuming no more delays, the US and its international partners should still be there first,” said Dr Osinski, who is also a geology team member for Nasa’s Artemis III, a Moon landing mission.
Private industry is helping Nasa to make its Artemis goals a reality, including Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin. They have contracts to build landers that will take astronauts to the lunar surface.
“For human exploration, private companies are involved, but they always have been and always will be,” said Dr Osinski. “Nasa contracts private companies to build the technologies needed to return humans to the Moon. For Artemis, all of the technology is new and must be tested again and again to make sure it is up to the task of transporting humans safely to the lunar surface.”
Sean Duffy, US Secretary of Transportation, was appointed by President Donald Trump to lead Nasa as interim administrator. He said since the Artemis Accords were signed five years ago, the “coalition is stronger than ever”.
“This is critical as we seek to beat China to the Moon, not just to leave footprints, but this time to stay,” Mr Duffy said in a statement released after the Artemis Accords meeting.
Plans are in place for the Artemis II and Artemis III missions. However, there is uncertainty on whether the Artemis programme is sustainable because each launch of the Super Launch System (SLS) rocket reportedly costs up to $4 billion.
Mr Musk had said that those launches on his Starship rocket could be at a fraction of a cost, though, the rockets are still in development.
“With the future of Nasa’s SLS and Orion uncertain due to rising costs and limited reusability, Starship is increasingly emerging as the de facto backbone of US launch infrastructure,” said Lin Kayser, co-founder of Dubai company Leap 71, which develops artificial intelligence models to design rocket engines.
China is also moving quickly towards its goal of landing astronauts on the Moon by 2030.
Its new Lanyue lunar lander has successfully carried out touchdown and lift-off trials, and the Mengzhou crew capsule cleared a critical launch-escape demonstration.
China's space programme used to be mostly closed off to foreign partners, but it has started opening up to co-operation in recent years, with partnerships formed with Russia, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
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Venue Insportz, Dubai; Admission Free
Day 1 fixtures (Saturday)
Men 1.45pm, Malaysia v Australia (Court 1); Singapore v India (Court 2); UAE v New Zealand (Court 3); South Africa v Sri Lanka (Court 4)
Women Noon, New Zealand v South Africa (Court 3); England v UAE (Court 4); 5.15pm, Australia v UAE (Court 3); England v New Zealand (Court 4)
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
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What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
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Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
