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| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | April 2016; 9 years ago (2016-04) |
| Jurisdiction | New Zealand |
| Headquarters | 15 Stout Street Wellington 6011 |
| Minister responsible | |
| Agency executive |
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| Website | New Zealand Space Agency |
TheNew Zealand Space Agency is an agency within the New ZealandMinistry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) charged with "space policy, regulation and business development" relating to space activities in New Zealand.[1]
The New Zealand Space Agency was formed in April 2016 under the country'sMinistry of Business, Innovation and Employment. The aim of the agency is to promote the development of a space industry in New Zealand and to reap its economic benefits,[1][2] and to regulate the country's growing commercial space industry. This includes space launches by the New Zealand subsidiary ofRocket Lab, an American aerospace company,[3] and creating new regulation in partnership with theCivil Aviation Authority of New Zealand to fly a suborbitalspaceplane from conventional airports.[4]
In November 2019, the agency signed a partnership with Americannon-governmental organizationEnvironmental Defense Fund to work onMethaneSAT, anEarth observation satellite that will study humanmethane emissions in order to better track andcombat climate change. As part of the partnership, the agency has contributedNZ$29.35 million for research and the rights to host mission control. The mission marked New Zealand's first government-funded space mission and successfully launched in early 2024.[5][6]
On 19 August 2020, Dr Sara Mikaloff-Fletcher, a former carbon cycling expert atNIWA, was named as lead scientist on the mission.[7]
On 2 July 2025, the Space Agency confirmed that the owners of MethaneSAT had lost contact with the satellite on 20 June 2025 and that recovery was unlikely.[8]RNZ reported that the satellite had cost taxpayers a total of NZ$32 million due to an extra $3 million caused by delays and investment in an unused ground Mission Control.[9]
On 1 June 2021, the NZSA signed theArtemis Accords, making New Zealand the 11th signatory of the accords. An announcement released the same day stated, "New Zealand has joined an international arrangement to co-operate withNASA on peaceful exploration and activity in outer space.Foreign MinisterNanaia Mahuta and Economic Development MinisterStuart Nash announced the government has agreed to join the Artemis Accords, launched by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and now signed by eleven nations."[10] NASA administratorBill Nelson later congratulated the agency.[11]
On 9 August 2022, New Zealand and the United States signed a framework agreement to launch new space sector opportunities.Stuart Nash signed the Framework Agreement withUnited States Deputy Secretary of State,Wendy Sherman. The signing followed Prime MinisterJacinda Ardern and Vice PresidentKamala Harris welcoming the completion of negotiations on this agreement during their meeting in Washington, DC on 31 May 2022.[12]
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