The United States on Wednesday pledged closer cooperation with France's space agency, saying the two were advancing the commercial development of space.

US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Jean-Yves Le Gall, president of France's space agency, CNES, signed a declaration of intent, announcing expanded collaboration on space traffic management and space situational awareness, among other matters.

The two met on the margins of an international astronautical conference in the US capital.

"As we quickly race towards a billion-dollar space economy, our relationship with CNES and other like-minded institutions around the globe will become even more crucial," Ross said in a statement.

While the declaration called for collaboration and the exchange of research and information, it also said both sides agreed that "at this time, international regulation of space is neither desirable nor necessary."

Since taking office in 2017, Ross has shown notable enthusiasm for the emerging industries outside the Earth's atmosphere.

Last month, he signed an agreement with Australia's space agency he said would facilitate "industry-to-industry" collaboration and advance American plans to return to the Moon by 2024 and advance exploration of Mars.

Related Links
Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

NASA's Bridenstine boosts international pitch for moon, Mars missions
Washington DC (UPI) Oct 21, 2019
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine made his strongest pitch so far on Monday for other nations to collaborate on the U.S. Artemis mission to build a lunar station and eventually explore Mars. "When we go to the moon, we want to take all of the partners we have on the International Space Station and we want to grow it," Bridenstine said at an annual gathering of the International Astronautical Congress in Washington, D.C. "We need international partners. We can all do more when we work togeth ... read more