The Artemis Accords are a set of statements that set out general principles, guidelines and best practices that apply to the safe exploration of the Moon and ultimately to humanity moving forward. space Mission and its reach Mars planet,
Whereas NASA is leading Artemis ProgramInternational partnerships with many countries and private companies are vital to its success, which aims to usher in a new era of space exploration and put the first woman and person of color on the Moon in 2024.
The purpose of the NASA-initiated agreement is to establish a common set of principles for responsibly carrying out the missions that fall under the Artemis mission umbrella.
Connected: The 10 Greatest Images from NASA’s Artemis 1 Moon Mission
Co-led by NASA and the US State Department, the Artemis agreement is signed at the national rather than organizational level, and countries that sign the agreement do so on a voluntary basis.
“Artemis will be the most comprehensive and most diverse international human space exploration program in history, and the Artemis Accords are the vehicle that will establish this singular global alliance,” said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. said in 2020 (opens in new tab) When the agreements were established. “With today’s signing, we are uniting with our partners to explore Moon and establishing important principles that will create a secure, peaceful and prosperous future in space for all of humanity to enjoy.”
Origin of the Artemis Agreement
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One of the key principles of the Artemis Agreement is to reaffirm the importance of countries complying with the 1967 Outer Space Treaty (or Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies). Give it its full title).
Additionally, the agreements reaffirm the importance of the Rescue and Return Agreement, opened in 1968, which emphasizes the responsibility of nations to safely return astronauts and equipment. earth and further space policies such as the 1972 Liability Agreement and the 1975 Registration Agreement.
The Artemis agreement was first launched and signed by eight countries in October 2020, with representatives of its signatory nations meeting in person for the first time on September 19, 2022, at the International Astronautical Congress in Paris.
In terms of scope, the agreements relate to activities in orbit, on the surface, and in the subsurface of the Moon, Mars, cometAnd asteroid, It also includes stable orbital points known as Lagrangian points for the Earth–Moon system and applies to objects in transit between these celestial bodies and locations.
What is the Artemis Agreement?
in Artemis Agreement Document (opens in new tab)NASA describes the key principles of the Artemis agreement as follows:
- Peaceful Exploration of Space: Nations agree that all activities conducted under the Artemis program must be carried out for peaceful purposes in accordance with international law.
- Transparency: Signatory nations must conduct their activities in a transparent manner in the hope that this prevents both confusion and conflict. It also extends to signatories sharing scientific information with the public and the international scientific community in good faith. Signatories must also apply it to competing projects and are expected to coordinate research and release of papers with each other. The agreement states: “The signatories to the Artemis agreement commit to publicly releasing scientific information, allowing the entire world to join us on Artemis’ journey.”
- Interoperability: The agreement states that nations participating in the Artemis program should aim to develop and provide support for systems that can work in conjunction with existing infrastructure, in hopes of both the safety of space operations and the sustainability of these missions. will increase.
- emergency assistance: Nations that have signed the Artemis Agreement are committed to assisting astronauts and personnel in outer space who are in distress.
- Registration of Space Objects: Nations participating in Artemis must determine which of them should register any relevant space objects.
- Conservation of Heritage: Signatories to the Artemis Agreement have committed to preserving humanity’s outer space heritage. This includes sites of historical significance such as human or robotic landing sites, artifacts, spacecraft, and other evidence of activity on other celestial bodies.
- Space Resources: The signatories to the Agreement affirm that the extraction and use of space resources from the celestial bodies listed above is critical to supporting safe and sustainable space exploration. They also committed to keep the UN Secretary-General, the public and the scientific community informed about space resource extraction activities.
- Paradox of Activities: The Artemis Accords commit nations to prevent harmful interference and to exercise the principle of due respect. It also involves the establishment of so-called “security zones” with areas that can be established between countries and that can be dismantled when the relevant operations cease.
- orbital debris: Artemis Accords countries are committed to planning for the safe, timely and efficient disposal of debris as part of the mission planning process. The signatories to the agreement also agree that they should limit the generation of new long-lasting or harmful debris. This includes the safe disposal of space structures in the post-mission operation phase
Which countries are involved in the Artemis Agreement?
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NASA says 23 countries have signed the Artemis agreement, including the US, UK, Japan, Italy, Canada and Brazil. On 13 December 2022, at the US/Africa Space Forum held in Washington DC, Nigeria and Rwanda became the first African countries to sign the agreement.
according to nasa (opens in new tab) As of January 3, 2023, the nations that have signed the Artemis Agreement are:
- Australia
- Bahrain
- Brazil
- Canada
- Colombia
- France
- israel
- Italy
- Japan
- Luxembourg
- Mexico
- new zealand
- Nigeria
- poland
- Republic of Korea
- romania
- Rwanda
- Saudi Arab
- Singapore
- ukraine
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom
- United States of america
additional resources
The Artemis mission represents humanity’s exciting next steps in space exploration, with an emphasis on diversity. Service Read how the mission will proceed (opens in new tab) Visit the NASA Artemis site. Artemis is the natural successor in many ways apollo program Who also took humanity to the moon. Learn more about the Apollo missions with Resources from NASA (opens in new tab), Here.
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Artemis Accords, [Accessed 01/03/23], [https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis-accords/img/Artemis-Accords-signed-13Oct2020.pdf (opens in new tab)]
Artemis Accords, Artemis NASA, [Accessed 01/03/23], [https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis-accords/index.html (opens in new tab)
The Artemis Accords, Gov.co.uk, [Accessed 01/03/23], https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-artemis-accords (opens in new tab)
Gateway MOU and Artemis Agreement – FAQ, ESA, [Accessed 01/03/23], https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Gateway_MoU_and_Artemis_Accords_FAQs (opens in new tab)
First meeting of the signatories to the Artemis Agreement, US State Department, [Accessed 01/03/23], [https://www.state.gov/first-meeting-of-artemis-accords-signatories (opens in new tab)]