Artemis Accords: Eight nations sign agreement for NASA-led lunar exploration plans

Eight countries have signed Artemis Accords to establish a set of principles to guide space exploration cooperation among nations participating in NASA’s lunar exploration plans. The Artemis program of NASA is the next step towards human space exploration and a part of the broader Moon to Mars exploration approach. Under the program, NASA is working to land the first woman and next man on the Moon.

The US space agency said on October 13 that international partnerships will play a key role in achieving a sustainable and robust presence on the Moon later this decade while preparing to conduct a historic human mission to Mars. Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, US, UK, and UAE have signed the Artemis Accords.

“With today’s signing, we are uniting with our partners to explore the Moon and are establishing vital principles that will create a safe, peaceful, and prosperous future in space for all of humanity to enjoy,” said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine in a statement.

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Principles of Artemis Accords

As per the principles of the Artemis Accords, all activities conducted under the Artemis program must be for peaceful purposes and signatories are required to conduct their activities in a transparent manner to avoid confusion and conflicts. They also commit to rendering assistance to personnel in distress and publicly release the scientific information.

The Artemis Accords signatories have pledged to preserve outer space heritage and utilise space resources in compliance with the Outer Space Treaty. The eight countries have further pledged to prevent harmful interference and plan for the safe disposal of debris. NASA acting associate administrator for international and interagency relations Mike Gold said in a statement that the Artemis journey is to the Moon, but the destination of the Accords is a peaceful and prosperous future.

“Fundamentally, the Artemis Accords will help to avoid conflict in space and on Earth by strengthening mutual understanding and reducing misperceptions,” said Gold.

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