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| President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers a speech as U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris listens during his visit to NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, Tuesday (local time). Yonhap |
By Nam Hyun-woo
WASHINGTON, D.C. ― President Yoon Suk Yeol visited NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center on Tuesday (local time) and stressed the importance of the alliance between South Korea and the U.S. in space development and security.
Yoon, who is on a state visit to the U.S., was welcomed to the space center by U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris. They acknowledged the ongoing bilateral collaborations for technologies required for space exploration and noted that space will be the next domain for the two countries' alliance.
"I have always believed that our future lies in space," Yoon said during the visit. "In space, we can pursue the maximum efficiency through intergovernmental solidarity and cooperation and can create greater synergy."
Yoon said he hopes the domain of the South Korea-U.S. alliance will expand into space and expects the two countries' space alliance to become the centerpiece of the partnership over the next 70 years.
"I also hope that the two countries' space alliance expands beyond technological and economic fields and encompasses the field of space security," Yoon said.
During Yoon's visit, South Korea's Minister of Science and ICT Lee Jong-ho and NASA's Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy signed a joint statement on cooperation in space exploration and space science.
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In the statement, they decided to search for joint projects for lunar exploration programs, satellite navigation systems and space exploration and flesh them out one by one. In doing so, Korea's new space agency, the Korea Aerospace Administration (KASA), will spearhead space cooperation between the two countries, especially in finding opportunities for Korea's participation in the U.S. Artemis program.
The Artemis program is a NASA-led space exploration project that aims to send the first woman and the next man to the moon by 2024. It also seeks to establish sustainable human exploration of the moon and prepare for future crewed missions to Mars. South Korea signed the Artemis Accords in 2021, becoming the 10th nation to take part in the program.
"We are establishing KASA to lead and oversee Korea's efforts toward the space economy. And today's statement is expected to be a significant step forward in upgrading space cooperation between the two countries into a solid space alliance," Yoon said.
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| President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris receive a briefing during their visit to NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, Tuesday (local time). Yonhap |
Harris noted that South Korea's lunar orbiter Danuri is equipped with NASA's high-definition camera and expects the two countries to cooperate further in the Artemis program, which will include sending an astronaut to the moon for the first time in 50 years and laying the foundation for a mission to Mars.
Yoon and Harris both said the two countries should play leading roles in setting up fair and reasonable principles in using space so that the entire world can enjoy the benefits of space development.
During their visit, Yoon and Harris inspected the Roman telescope, a next-generation space telescope, and the production site of a weather observation satellite which is under development for climate change response.
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