TheArtemis Accords are a series of non-binding multilateral arrangements[1] between the United States government and other world governments that elaborates on the norms expected to be followed in outer space.[2] The Accords are related to theArtemis program, an American-led effort to return humans to theMoon by 2027, with the ultimate goal of expanding space exploration to Mars and beyond.[3]
The Accords were originally signed on 13 October 2020 by representatives of thenational space agencies of eight countries: Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan,Luxembourg, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States.[5] The Accords remain open for signature indefinitely, as NASA anticipates more nations joining.[9] Additional signatories can choose to directly participate in Artemis program activities, or may agree simply to commit to the principles for responsible exploration of the Moon as set out in the Accords.[10]
The Accords originated from the eponymousArtemis Program, an American plan launched in 2017 to send the first woman and the next man to the Moon by 2024.[71] Bridenstine stated that the agreements were intended to create a uniform set of guidelines for countries to avoid potential conflict or misunderstanding in future space endeavors; governments that sign the Accords may formally take part in the Artemis Program.[71] The Accords were drafted by NASA, theU.S. Department of State, and the newly re-establishedNational Space Council; a draft was released to several governments for consultation before the final document was announced in May 2020.[70][68]
On 13 October 2020, in a recorded andlivestreamed ceremony, the Accords were signed by the directors of the national space agencies of the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, Luxembourg, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates.[5][72] The head of the Ukrainian national space agency signed the Accords exactly one month later.[19][73]
In 2021, South Korea became the tenth country to sign the Accords,[20][74] with New Zealand joining a week later.[21] The following June, Brazil became the first country in Latin America to join the Artemis Accords,[75] after previously indicating its intent to sign in 2020.[22][76] Poland signed the Accords at the 72ndInternational Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Dubai, with the head of the Polish Space Agency expressing a desire to develop indigenous Polish space technology.[23] Mexico joined the Accords in December 2021.[24]
In 2022, the number of signatories of the Accords more than doubled from the previous year: Israel signed,[77] followed by Romania,[26] Bahrain,[27] and Singapore[28] in March; Colombia in May,[29] and France on 7 June 2022, the 60th anniversary of the founding ofits space program[30] (pursuant to meetings in November 2021 between U.S. Vice PresidentKamala Harris and French PresidentEmmanuel Macron in which he expressed France's intent to join).[78][79][80][81] Saudi Arabia signed the Accords on 14 July 2022, becoming the second Middle Eastern and Arab country to join.[31] On 13 December 2022, at theUnited States–Africa Leaders Summit 2022, Rwanda and Nigeria became the first African nations to sign the Artemis Accords.[32][82]
Representatives from signatory nations held their first meeting on 19 September 2022 at the IAC to discuss the Accords and cooperation in space more broadly.[83][84]
In 2023, signatories to the Accords continued to grow, including: the Czech Republic[85][33] and Spain[34] both signing within a single month, followed by Ecuador as well as India signing the Accords[36] during prime ministerNarendra Modi'sstate visit to the U.S.[86][87] In September 2023, Director General of the German Space Agency at DLR and Member of the DLR Executive Board Walther Pelzer, signed the Accords for Germany in the German embassy inWashington D.C. The ceremony was attended and witnessed as well by Space-Coordinator of the German Government, Anna Christmann, the current German ambassador in Washington, Andreas Michaelis as well as the Administrator of NASA, Bill Nelson.[88] Iceland, the Netherlands and Bulgaria joined in October/November 2023.Angola joined in December 2023 during a ceremony in Washington, D.C.[89]
With the accession ofThailand into the Accords on 16 December 2024, it became the first signatory to participate in both theInternational Lunar Research Station and the Artemis Accords,[97] the second being Senegal.[98]
In 2025, Finland,[60] Bangladesh,[61] Norway,[62] Senegal,[63] Hungary,[64] the Philippines, Malaysia,[65] and Latvia[67] joined the Accords. The Philippines and Malaysia joined the Accords on the sidelines of the2025 ASEAN Summits.[65]
Although a prerequisite for taking part in the Artemis Program, the Accords have been interpreted as codifying key principles and guidelines for exploring space generally.[7] Their stated purpose is to "provide for operational implementation of important obligations contained in theOuter Space Treaty and other instruments." The Accords are a single document, signed by each country that commits to the Accords' principles. Bilateral agreements between space agencies for specific operations on the Moon and beyond are expected to reference the Accords and implement them in particular projects.
Affirm that cooperative activities under these Accords should be exclusively for peaceful purposes and in accordance with relevant international law.
Confirm a commitment to transparency and to share scientific information, consistent with Article XI of the Outer Space Treaty.
Call for a commitment to use reasonable efforts to utilize current interoperability standards for space-based infrastructure, and to establish standards when they do not exist or are inadequate.
Call for a commitment to take all reasonable efforts to render necessary assistance to personnel in outer space who are in distress and according to their obligations under theRescue and Return Agreement.
Specify responsibility for the registration of objects in space, as required by theRegistration Convention
Call for a commitment to publicly share information on their activities and to the open sharing of scientific data. While doing so, signatories agree to coordinate with each other to provide appropriate protection for any proprietary and/or export-controlled information, and this provision does not extend to private sector operations unless conducted on behalf of a signatory.
Include an agreement to preserve outer space heritage, which they consider to comprise historically significant human or robotic landing sites, artifacts, spacecraft, and other evidence of activity, and to contribute to multinational efforts to develop practices and rules to do so.
Include an agreement that extraction and utilization of space resources should be conducted in a manner that complies with the Outer Space Treaty and in support of safe and sustainable activities. The signatories affirm that this does not inherently constitute national appropriation, which is prohibited by the Outer Space Treaty. They also express an intent to contribute to multilateral efforts to further develop international practices and rules on this subject.
Reaffirm the signatories commitment to the Outer Space Treaty's provisions relating to due regard and harmful interference with other nations' activities, and to provide information regarding the location and nature of space-based activities. Signatories express an intention to contribute to multilateral efforts to further develop international practices, criteria, and rules to assure this. To implement this, the Accords provide for the announcement of "safety zones", where other operations or an anomalous event could reasonably cause harmful interference. The size and scope of these safe zones should be based on the nature and environment of the operations involved and determined in a reasonable manner leveraging commonly accepted scientific and engineering principles. Within their safety zones, the signatories commit to respect the principle of free access to all areas of celestial bodies by others and all other provisions of the Outer Space Treaty.
Include a commitment to mitigate space debris and to limit the generation of new, harmful space debris in the normal operations, break-up in operational or post-mission phases, and accidents.
The Artemis Accords have generally been welcomed for advancing international law and cooperation in space.[7] Observers note that the substance of the Accords is "uncontentious" and represent a "significant political attempt to codify key principles of space law" for governing nations' space activities.[7] International legal scholars also credit the agreement with helping influence space exploration in the direction of uniform standards of cooperation and peaceful use.[100] The Accords have also been lauded for being the first time several nations have agreed to recognize the presence of human cultural heritage in outer space and the need to protect it.[101]
With Australia signing and ratifying both theMoon Treaty as well as the Artemis Accords, there has been a discussion if they can be harmonized.[102] In this light anImplementation Agreement for the Moon Treaty has been advocated for, as a way to compensate for the shortcomings of the Moon Treaty and to harmonize it with other laws, allowing it to be more widely accepted.[103][104]
The Accords have also been criticized for allegedly being "too centered on American and commercial interests." Russia has condemned them as a "blatant attempt to create international space law that favors the United States."[105] Beside possibly being an opportunity for China[clarification needed] in light of theWolf Amendment, Chinese government affiliated media has called the Accords "akin to European colonialenclosure land-taking methods."[106] Russia and China have since reached an understanding to work together on the ChineseInternational Lunar Research Station concept, to serve as a potential competing option for third parties such as Pakistan.[107]
Two researchers writing inScience magazine's Policy Forum have called on countries to speak up about their objections, and argued that the United States should go through the United Nations treaty process in order to negotiate on space mining. They were concerned NASA's Accords, if accepted by many nations, would enable the Accords' interpretation of the Outer Space Treaty to prevail.[105] Acceptance of the Artemis Accords is a prerequisite for participation in NASA'sArtemis lunar program.[105]
Critics also contend that since the Outer Space Treaty expressly forbids nations from staking claim to another planetary body, the Accords violate space law by allowing signatories to lay claim to any resources extracted from celestial objects.[108] Frans von der Dunk of theUniversity of Nebraska-Lincoln claims the Accords strengthen "the US interpretation of the Outer Space Treaty", namely "the basic right for individual States to allow the private sector to become engaged" in commercial activities. The weakened alternative interpretation is that "unilateral approval of commercial exploitation isnot in compliance with the Outer Space Treaty, and that only an international regime, notably—presumably—including an international licensing system, could legitimise such commercial exploitation."[109][110]
^Except theMoon Treaty, despite Australia having ratified it. The Moon Treaty only has 17 State Parties, none of which has engaged in self-launched human spaceflight.
^"NASA, International Partners Advance Cooperation with First Signings of Artemis Accords".NASA. 13 October 2020.Archived from the original on 15 October 2020.Additional countries will join the Artemis Accords in the months and years ahead, as NASA continues to work with its international partners to establish a safe, peaceful, and prosperous future in space. Working with emerging space agencies, as well as existing partners and well-established space agencies, will add new energy and capabilities to ensure the entire world can benefit from the Artemis journey of exploration and discovery.
^Smith, Marcie (2 November 2023)."Iceland and Netherlands Join Artemis Accords".Archived from the original on 24 May 2024. Retrieved24 May 2024.NASA told SpacePolicyOnline.com on November 7 that the Embassy of Iceland in the United States hand delivered a copy of the signed document to NASA on October 31 (the day before Netherlands joined) and the document is dated October 10.
^ab"NASA: Artemis Accords".nasa.gov. NASA.Archived from the original on 16 May 2020. Retrieved16 May 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
Various conventions, treaties, agreements, memorandums, charters or declarations establishing and governing intergovernmental organisations or inter-agency bodies dealing with space affairs
Artemis Accords atWikisource
Australia
Canada
Italy
Japan
Luxembourg
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
United States
Ukraine
South Korea
New Zealand
Brazil
Poland
Mexico
Israel
Romania
Bahrain
Singapore
Colombia
France
Saudi Arabia
Nigeria
Rwanda
Czech Republic
Spain
Ecuador
India
Argentina
Germany
Iceland
Netherlands
Bulgaria
Angola
Belgium
Greece
Uruguay
Switzerland
Sweden
Slovenia
Lithuania
Peru
Slovakia
Armenia
Dominican Republic
Estonia
Cyprus
Chile
Denmark
Panama
Austria
Thailand
Liechtenstein
Finland
Bangladesh
Norway
Senegal
Hungary
Malaysia
Philippines
Latvia
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
