Saudi Arabia became the twenty-first country to join the Artemis Accords. This was announced by NASA administrator Bill Nelson.
Earlier today, Saudi Arabia joined a growing number of nations that have signed the Artemis Accords, affirming its commitment to sustainable space exploration that follows a common set of principles promoting the beneficial use of space for all of humanity.
— Bill Nelson (@SenBillNelson) July 14, 2022
What are the Artemis Accords?
The Artemis Accords are an agreement between the Governments of the States participating in the Artemis program. It defines the principles of cooperation and civil activities for the exploration and use of the Moon, Mars, comets and asteroids for peaceful purposes.
The Artemis Accords establish the following set of fundamental principles that should guide all its signatories:
- Peaceful research. All actions taken within the framework of the Artemis program should be carried out exclusively for peaceful purposes.
- Transparency. The Parties to the Accords should openly talk about the goals of their activities to avoid confusion and conflicts.
- Technical compatibility. The Parties to the Accords will use common technical standards, which will ensure the interchangeability of various components and increase the level of safety.
- Emergency assistance. The Parties to the Accords are obliged to provide assistance to astronauts in distress.
- Registration of space objects. The Parties to the Accords must sign a Convention on the Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space.
- Publication of scientific data. The Parties to the Accords undertake to publish the collected scientific information so that the whole world can use it.
- Heritage protection. The Parties to the Accords undertake to preserve the historical heritage of mankind beyond the Earth.
- Space resources. The extraction and use of the resources of Solar System objects is the key to safe and sustainable space exploration. The Parties to the Accords confirm that such activities should be carried out in accordance with the “Outer Space Treaty”.
- Conflict prevention. The Parties to the Accords undertake to prevent third-party interference in space activities and to support the principle of due attention, as required by the Outer Space Treaty.
- Space debris. The Parties to the Accords undertake to ensure the safe disposal of space debris.
Participants of the Artemis Accords
To date, twenty-one countries have joined the Artemis Accords. In addition to Saudi Arabia, these are the USA, Australia, Brazil, Great Britain, Italy, Canada, Luxembourg, UAE, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Poland, Israel, Mexico, Romania, Bahrain, Singapore, Colombia and France. Ukraine is also a party to the Artemis Accords.
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