BSA outlines vision for building lunar economy at Global Space Leaders’ Summit
Antalya, Oct. 7 (BNA): The Bahrain Space Agency delegation, led by Dr. Mohammed Ibrahim Al Asiri, BSA CEO, participated in the third Global Space Leaders’ Summit, held in Antalya, Türkiye, on the sidelines of the International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2026).
The summit’s roundtable focused on three key topics: the lunar economy, orbital resilience, and space-based solutions to address challenges and disasters on Earth.
In his address, Dr. Al Asiri said the Moon was evolving from a scientific research destination into a new frontier for exploration, innovation and sustainable economic growth, with resources such as water ice and helium-3 offering significant potential.
He stressed that the focus had shifted from whether a lunar economy would emerge to how it would be developed and who would benefit from it, affirming Bahrain’s determination to play an active role in this emerging sector.
Dr. Al Asiri highlighted Bahrain’s ongoing cooperation on lunar missions, including the development of a navigation camera payload for the UAE Lunar Mission in partnership with the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre. Bahrain is also collaborating with Egypt on a lunar mission expected to launch later this year or early next year to study the composition of soil at the Moon’s south pole, particularly frozen water deposits.
The CEO emphasised the importance of responsible governance, international partnerships and investment in human capital, noting that Bahraini engineers are working with international partners to develop expertise that will support the Kingdom’s space sector.
Dr. Al Asiri said the summit provided an important platform for space agencies to coordinate approaches to responsible lunar exploration and resource utilisation, while opening new avenues for technical and scientific cooperation and strengthening Bahrain’s participation in major lunar projects.
The CEO affirmed Bahrain’s readiness to contribute to the development of the lunar economy through its technical capabilities, scientific cooperation and commitment to international partnerships
