MALAYSIA currently has no plans to sign the Nasa-led Artemis Accords, an international agreement on the exploration of the moon, says Deputy Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Ahmad Amzad Mohamed @ Hashim.He said the government was of the view that Malaysia was still not ready to participate in the initiative.

       “Any decision to join such an agreement must first be reviewed carefully from various aspects, including the nation’s financial capabilities and the benefits that it will bring,” he said in reply to a supplementary question from Shaharizukirnain Abd Kadir (PN-PAS) during Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.

       Shaharizukirnain had asked the government to state its position on the Artemis Accords, which is led by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa).

       On Oct 14 last year, Nasa had announced that the United States had signed the agreement with Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.

       The agreement includes provisions for peaceful exploration, safety, transparency, sustainable use of space resources, cooperation to build and operate spacecraft and other hardware, and the management and disposal of orbital debris.

       To a question on whether Malaysia had joined a closed-door seminar on international lunar research in Zhuhai, China, Ahmad Amzad said it was attended by various experts, including representatives from the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, the European Space Agency and Asia Pacific Space Cooperation Organisation.

       The workshop was jointly hosted by the China National Space Administration and the Russian space agency Roscosmos.