Saudi Arabia and the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have inked a historic deal for the launch of the Artemis II mission, the country's first satellite devoted to space weather research.
The agreement strengthens the Kingdom's position in international space exploration programs and represents a new turning point in Saudi-US scientific collaboration.
The deal, which was signed during US President Donald Trump's official visit to Riyadh, represents the strengthening of bilateral ties in science, technology, and innovation and expands on the larger framework for US-Saudi space cooperation that was codified in July 2024.
The new satellite will gather high-resolution data on solar activity and its impacts on Earth's magnetic field, to support international efforts to safeguard astronauts, advance satellite navigation and communications, and improve space weather forecasting.
