The Artemis Accords reinforces the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, a non-weapon document focused on preventing weapons of mass destruction from the bodies of the moon and other planets. The ’67 treaty has been signed and ratified by 110 countries, including Russia, China and the United States.
The countries signing the Artemis Agreement agree on 10 principles, including peaceful research, transparency, offering emergency assistance to distressed employees, releasing scientific information to the public, and safely disposing of space debris. Here is the complete list provided by NASA:
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Peaceful research: All activities under the Artemis program must be for peaceful purposes
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Transparency: Artemis Accord signatories will conduct their activities in a transparent fashion to avoid confusion and conflict
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Interactivity: Nations participating in the Artemis program will endeavor to support interoperable systems to enhance security and sustainability
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Emergency Assistance: The Artemis Accord signatures are committed to assisting employees in distress
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Registration of space of budgets: Any nation participating in Artemis must be a signatory to the Registration Convention or be a signatory with distinction
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Published scientific data: The Artemis Accord signatures are committed to the public release of scientific information, allowing the whole world to join us on Artemis’ journey.
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Preserving Heritage: The Artemis Accord signatures are committed to the preservation of the outer space heritage
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Space Resources: Extracting and utilizing space resources for safe and sustainable research is key and the Artemis Accord signatories are ensuring that such activities must take place in compliance with the Outer Space Treaty.
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Deconflux of activities: The Artemis Accord nations are committed to preventing harmful interference and upholding the principle of proper context as required by the Outer Space Treaty.
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Orbital debress: Artemis Accord is committed to planning for the safe disposal of scrap countries
Notably, Russia – the U.S. foil and original space race in the Cold War – and China have not yet signed the Artemis Agreement. There is no word on whether both countries are interested, although NASA says more countries will sign in the coming months and years.
Mike Gold, NASA’s executive associate director for international and interpersonal relations, said: “Basically, the Artemis Accords will help strengthen mutual understanding and reduce misunderstandings to avoid conflicts in space and on Earth. Transparency, public registration, deconflecting operations – these are the principles that will keep the peace. Artemis travels to the moon, but the destination of the Ords Cords is a peaceful and prosperous future. ”
