The Bahrain Space Agency is participating for the first time in the COSPAR 2026 conference in Italy.
Florence, August 9 / BNA / The Bahrain Space Agency participated for the first time in the COSPAR 2026 conference, which is being held in Florence, Italy, from August 1 to 9, 2026, hosted by the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF), with the participation of more than 3,000 researchers and specialists from more than 60 countries.
This participation embodies the agency’s keenness to enhance the presence of the Kingdom of Bahrain in specialized international scientific forums, and to highlight its national competencies in the fields of space science and technology.
The agency was represented in this participation by space engineer Yaqoub Al-Qassab, who presented two scientific papers during the scientific sessions of the association, which were prepared in cooperation with the University of Strathclyde in the United Kingdom, within the axis of studies of the Earth, Moon, Planets and Minor Bodies System, in a step that reflects the fruits of the research cooperation between the agency and prestigious international universities.
The first paper dealt with the development of a high-resolution digital simulation platform for the lunar surface environment, based on open-source tools, enabling repeated and measurable testing of rover mobility, drilling, and resource extraction operations in the Moon's south polar region.
The second paper presented algorithms for navigation and autonomous control of rovers on the lunar surface, based on a generative artificial intelligence model to enable vehicles to plan their routes.
On this occasion, Engineer Yaqoub Al-Qassab expressed his sincere thanks and appreciation to the Bahrain Space Agency for its continuous support to its members and for enabling them to participate in international scientific forums.
He explained in a statement that the conference was an opportunity to meet with a select group of experts and researchers from various countries around the world over the course of the days of participation, in a packed edition that included about 150 scientific sessions.
He expressed his hope that the Bahrain Space Agency’s first participation would be the start of many future participations in the Space Research Committee conferences, during which more scientific papers would be published, reflecting the rapid development of the space sector in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
It is worth noting that the Space Research Committee is one of the oldest international scientific bodies in the field of space, as it was founded in 1958, with the aim of promoting scientific space research at the international level.
The committee holds its scientific assembly every two years, and its sessions cover a wide range of topics including Earth and climate sciences, and deep space studies.
