Continued Jordan-NASA cooperation encouraged

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday met with the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Maj. Gen. Charles F. Bolden, according to a Royal Court statement. 

During the meeting attended by HRH Crown Prince Hussein at Al Husseiniya Palace, the King said Jordan is looking forward to benefitting from the programmes and expertise of NASA in the advanced science field , which are to be incorporated into the curricula of local educational and academic institutions. 

His Majesty thanked NASA for its cooperation with the initiatives of Crown Prince Hussein, including an academic exchange programmes. 

Jordan is the only Arab country and one out of 10 globally to have signed an agreement with NASA in the field of training exceptional students, the statement said, adding that the agreement resulted in a local team working on designing the first Jordanian satellite “CubeSat”. 

For his part, Bolden voiced the importance of the agreement connecting NASA and the initiatives of the Crown Prince, saying the agency is looking forward to further cooperation.

He also praised the advanced level Jordan has reached in different sectors.

The meeting was attended by Royal Court Chief Fayez Tarawneh and King’s Office Director Jafar Hassan. 

The collaboration between Jordan and NASA, which started two years ago, encompasses internships for Jordanians interested in pursuing a career in technology as well as a joint NASA/Jordanian team collaborating on building and programming a Nano satellite such as a Cubesat, according to the Crown Prince’s website.