What is Artemis Accords?

About Artemis Accords:

• The Artemis Accords are a non-binding set of principles designed to guide civil space exploration and use in the 21st century. 
• These principles will help to ensure the maintenance of a safe and predictable outer space environment. 
• NASA, in coordination with the U.S. Department of State, established the Artemis Accords in 2020, together with seven other founding member nations.
• Artemis Accords signatories as of May 30, 2023: Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Czech Republic, France, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Poland, the Republic of Korea, Romania, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States. 
• Principles:
  • Peaceful Purposes: Consistent with the Outer Space Treaty, the Artemis Accords affirm that cooperative activities should be exclusively for peaceful purposes and in accordance with international law. 
  • Transparency: Artemis Accords signatories are committed to the broad dissemination of information regarding their respective national space policies and space exploration plans in accordance with their national rules and regulations. 
  • Interoperability: Interoperability enhances the potential for space exploration that is safe and robust among cooperating nations.
  • Emergency Assistance: Accords signatories commit to taking all reasonable efforts to render necessary assistance to personnel in outer space who are in distress and acknowledge their obligations under the Agreement on the Rescue of Astronauts, the Return of Astronauts and the Return of Objects Launched into Outer Space. 
  • Registration of Space Objects: Appropriate registration of space objects can help to mitigate the risk of harmful interference. The Artemis Accords reinforce the importance of meeting the obligations under the Registration Convention.
  • Release of Scientific Data: Sharing scientific data with the global community in a timely and transparent manner.
  • Protecting Heritage: Accords signatories intend to preserve historically significant human or robotics landing sites, artifacts, spacecraft etc.
  • Space Resources: The utilization of space resources should be done in a manner that complies with the Outer Space Treaty, can benefit humankind and is critical to sustainable operations. 
  • Deconfliction of Activities: Artemis Accords signatories needs to provide notification of their activities, including regarding the location and general nature of their operations, and coordinating with any relevant actor to avoid harmful interference. The area covered by the notification and coordination is referred to as a “safety zone.”
  • Orbital Debris and Spacecraft Disposal: Planning to mitigate for orbital debris, as well as disposing safely of spacecrafts, is critical to maintaining a safe environment in space and operating in space sustainably.

NASA’s Artemis Program:

• With the Artemis programme, NASA aims to land humans on the moon by 2024, and it also plans to land the first woman and first person of colour on the moon.
• With this mission, NASA aims to contribute to scientific discovery and economic benefits and inspire a new generation of explorers.