The Democratic Republic of Madagascar strongly contends that space exploration, if harnessed cooperatively, safely, and

peacefully, is a great resource for all nations but especially those developing. Madagascar is one of the poorest countries. In 2017,
more than three out of four citizens lived on less than $1.90 a day, according to The Borgen Project. Therefore, the country lacks
not merely a space agency, but the groundwork in which one could potentially arise. As an article titled The Second Space Race:
Rating the Nations put it, “Madagascar lacks the industrial base, the educational base, and the political foundation for… space
power… [and it] has no plans for attempting to further any ambition in space development or research.” For reference, the article
placed Madagascar under Tier 1 of their list. However, all this is not to say that Madagascar does not have a history and current
chemistry with space advancement, even if minimally implemented. As relayed in the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration’s book Read You Loud and Clear, in December of 1963, the U.S. entered into a 10-year agreement—via a United
Nations resolution calling for the application of space research to the benefit of disadvantaged people—with the Malagasy Republic
that allowed for the installation of one of their 19 transportable satellite tracking stations. Using the network, the Goddard Space
Flight Center was able to communicate with unmanned spacecraft for roughly 15 minutes of every 90-minute orbit. The station’s
efforts were terminated solely because of politics, seeing as soon after, a militarized Marxist government was established.

While the station is no longer in use, when it was, it provided Madagascar much-needed weather forecasts, specifically during
hurricane seasons, as well as professional opportunities for some 200 local residents. As stated by Glo.be, in Madagascar, “there’s
little chance you’ll find a job if you don’t bribe people,” and, as per the United States Agency for International Development, “Over
the past 35 years more than 50 natural disasters have struck the country; cyclones, droughts, floods and locust infestations have
affected over half the population. These natural disasters have in turn led to epidemics, including malaria, and food shortages.”
Structurally arid and infrastructurally lacking, Madagascar is uniquely at risk in terms of natural disasters, which regularly strike
different regions of the country and have a sudden, drastic, and indelible impact on the food security of the Malagasy people.
What’s called the “Deep South” is continuously affected by climate change and experienced a severe drought from 2015 to 2017
due to El Nino, an abnormal climate pattern caused by the warming of the Pacific Ocean. Bearing this in mind, it is no surprise that
while Madagascar itself is not capable of creating a space program, it adamantly supports juggernaut nations who do, nations like
the U.S., Russia, China, Japan, India, Israel, and South Africa, the last with which Madagascar signed the bilateral Agreement on
Science and Technology Cooperation in 2015. 

Madagascar holds, therefore, that space exploration would not only be beneficial to third-world, impoverished countries with
extreme fluctuations in weather and climate, but essential. After all, as Madagascar’s Minister of Higher Education and Scientific
Research, Dr. Marie Rasoazananera, articulated in an interview with Africitech, “The objective of research is to meet development
needs.” Space exploration plays a significant role in many disaster management phases highlighted by the United Nations Office for
Outer Space Affairs: prevention, preparation, warning, response, and reconstruction. For instance, before a disaster even takes
place, satellites are able to acquire remotely sensed data for mathematical models that can then predict the disaster and provide
precaution. Nonetheless, Madagascar also acknowledges that the militarization of space, the transformation of this otherwise ideal
source of information and protection into a battleground for braggadocio, is a serious dilemma. Thus, the nation suggests that,
although the Outer Space Treaty and Moon Agreement are still in order, the Committee of the Peaceful Uses of Space modify its
legal regime to reflect today’s space exploration landscape by 1. utilizing a more triangular, capacity-building approach through
facilitating connections between space-faring and developing countries 2. convening those in the space universe and civil society to
grasp the people’s needs since otherwise, the committee comes to a major roadblock when discussing which guidelines to enforce 3.
necessitating that all space exploration-involved nations compile a comprehensive overview of their objectives 4. ensuring those
objectives are advantageous and fall under the category of a. the advancement of science b. the prevention and monitoring of natural
disasters c. collection of resources d. forging of fruitful diplomatic relationships 5. punishing those who disobey, neglect, or abuse
the preceding regulations through the confiscation of their equipment, scientific data, and authority. With this five-step protocol in
place, Madagascar believes that the exploration of space can be a means to a better, brighter future for all. 
 Works Cited

The Second (2nd) Space Race: Rating the Nations, www.hudsonfla.com/spacerace.htm.

Finkbeiner, Ann. “How Do We Prevent War in Space?” Scientific American, Scientific American,
www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-do-we-prevent-war-in-space/.
Giles, Chris. “Africa Leaps Forward into Space Technology.” CNN, Cable News Network, 16 May 2018,
www.cnn.com/2017/08/10/africa/africa-space-race/index.html.
Klimas, Jacqueline, et al. “How the United Nations Is Trying to Keep the Peace in Space.” POLITICO, 9 Nov.
2018, www.politico.com/story/2018/11/09/united-nations-space-research-military-965384.
Luc. “Marie-Monique Rasoazananera.” Afriscitech, 16 May 1970, www.afriscitech.com/en/scientists/young-
scientists/842-marie-monique-rasoazananera-scientific-research-must-be-the-engine-that-drives-economy.
“Madagascar - Science and Technology.” Encyclopedia of the Nations,
www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Africa/Madagascar-SCIENCE-AND-TECHNOLOGY.html.
“Madagascar: ‘Little Chance You'll Find a Job If You Don't Bribe People.’” Glo.be, www.glo-
be.be/en/articles/madagascar-little-chance-youll-find-job-if-you-dont-bribe-people.
“Madagascar–South Africa Relations.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 22 Oct. 2020,
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madagascar–South_Africa_relations.
Thelwell, Kim. “Poverty in Madagascar: The Borgen Project: Poverty Reduction.” The Borgen Project, Kim
Thelwell Https://Borgenproject.org/Wp-Content/Uploads/The_Borgen_Project_Logo_small.Jpg, 17 Nov.
2019, borgenproject.org/poverty-in-madagascar-3/#:~:text=This societal fragility has contributed,the
highest in the world.&text=Unfortunately, poverty rates have held,less than $1.90 a day.
Thompson, Mackenzie. “First Responders in Space: How Satellites Save Lives During Natural Disasters.”
Space.com, Space, 2 Feb. 2019, www.space.com/43202-earth-satellites-save-lives-natural-disasters.html.
“Use Space Technology to Build a Better World for All, Urges UN Chief | | UN News.” United Nations, United
Nations, news.un.org/en/story/2018/06/1012672.
“Working in Crises and Conflict: Madagascar.” U.S. Agency for International Development, 24 May 2016,
www.usaid.gov/madagascar/working-in-crisis-and-conflict#:~:text=Over the past 35 years,including
malaria, and food shortages.