Artemis Accords: What are they & which countries are involved?

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The Artemis Accords lay out the framework for collaborating nations as we enter the next era of lunar exploration and beyond.

Graphic showing the the artemis accords logo above white text reading "the artemis accords", the surface of the moon is seen in the lower portion of the image and a distant Mars peeks out from the surface of the moon.
The next era of space exploration is underway with the Artemis program aiming to send the first woman and person of color to the lunar surface before targeting a crewed mission to Mars. The Artemis accords lay out a framework for nations collaborating in this exciting endeavor. (Image credit: NASA)
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The Artemis Accords are a set of statements that set out common principles, guidelines, and best practices that apply to the safe exploration of the moon and eventually beyond as humanity extends the duration of space missions and its reach to Mars.

While NASA is leading the Artemis program, which aims to kick start a new era of space exploration and put the first woman and person of color on the moon in 2024, international partnerships with numerous countries and private companies are vital to its success.

Initiated by NASA the aim of the accords is to establish a common set of principles to ensure missions that fall under the Artemis mission umbrella are undertaken responsibly.

Related: The 10 greatest images from NASA's Artemis 1 moon mission

Co-led by NASA and the U.S. Department of State, the Artemis Accords are signed at a national level rather than on an organizational level, and countries that sign the accord do so voluntarily.

"Artemis will be the broadest and most diverse international human space exploration program in history, and the Artemis Accords are the vehicle that will establish this singular global coalition," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in 2020 when the Accords were founded. "With today's signing, we are uniting with our partners to explore the moon and are establishing vital principles that will create a safe, peaceful, and prosperous future in space for all of humanity to enjoy."

Origins of the Artemis Accords

At the heart of the Artemis missions, the SLS the most powerful rocket ever built by humanity sits on the launch pad ready to make history. (Image credit: NASA)

One of the key principles of the Artemis Accords is to affirm the importance of countries complying with 1967's Outer Space Treaty (or the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the moon and Other Celestial Bodies to give it its full title).

Additionally, the accords affirm the importance of the Rescue and Return Agreement opened in 1968, which emphasizes the responsibility of nations to safely return astronauts and equipment to Earth and further space-related policies such as 1972's Liability Convention and 1975's Registration Convention.

The Artemis Accords were first launched and signed by eight nations in October 2020, with representatives of its signatory nations meeting in person for the first time at the International Astronautical Congress in Paris on September 19, 2022.

In terms of scope, the accords relate to activities in orbit, on the surface, and in the subsurface of the moon, Mars, comets, and asteroids. It also covers the stable orbital points known as the Lagrangian points for the Earth-moon system and is applied to objects in transit between these celestial bodies and locations.

What do the Artemis Accords say?

In the Artemis Accords document, NASA lays out the key principles of the Artemis Accords as follows:

  1. 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.
  2. Transparency: Signatory nations should conduct their activities in a transparent way in the hope this prevents both confusion and conflict. This also extends to signatories sharing scientific information with the public and the international scientific community on a good-faith basis. Signatories should apply this even to competing projects and are expected to coordinate the release of research and papers with each other. The accords state: "Artemis Accords signatories commit to the public release of scientific information, allowing the whole world to join us on the Artemis journey."
  3. Interoperability: The accords say that nations participating in the Artemis program should aim to develop and provide support for systems that can work in conjunction with existing infrastructure, hopefully enhancing both the safety of space operations and the sustainability of these missions.
  4. Emergency Assistance: Nations signing the Artemis Accords are committed to assisting astronauts and personnel in outer space who are in distress.
  5. Registration of Space Objects: Nations participating in Artemis should determine which of them should register any relevant space object.
  6. Preserving Heritage: Artemis Accords signatories have committed to preserving humanity's outer space heritage. This includes sites with historic significance such as human or robotic landing sites, artifacts, spacecraft, and other evidence of activity on other celestial bodies.
  7. Space Resources: The accord signatories affirm that extracting and utilizing space resources from the celestial bodies listed above is vital to supporting safe and sustainable space exploration. They also commit to informing the U.N. Secretary General, the public, and the scientific community of space resource extraction activities.
  8. Deconfliction of Activities: The Artemis Accords nations are committed to preventing harmful interference and exercising the principle of due regard. This also covers the establishment of so-called "safety zones" with areas that can be established between countries and which can be ended when relevant operations cease.
  9. 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. Signatories of the accords also agree that they should limit the generation of new long-lived or harmful debris. This includes the safe disposal of space structures in the post-operation phase of missions

Who has signed the Artemis accords?

52 countries have signed the Artemis Accords so far. (Image credit: NASA)

At the time of writing 52 countries have signed the Artemis Accords including the U.S., the U.K., Japan, Italy, Canada, and Brazil.

As of Dec. 20, 2024, the nations signed up to the Artemis Accords are as follows (in alphabetical order):

  1. Angola
  2. Argentina
  3. Armenia
  4. Australia
  5. Austria
  6. Bahrain
  7. Belgium
  8. Brazil
  9. Bulgaria
  10. Canada
  11. Chile
  12. Columbia
  13. Cyprus
  14. Czech Republic
  15. Denmark
  16. Dominican Republic
  17. Ecuador
  18. Estonia
  19. France
  20. Germany
  21. Greece
  22. Iceland
  23. India
  24. Israel
  25. Italy
  26. Japan
  27. Lichtenstein
  28. Lithuania
  29. Luxemburg
  30. Mexico
  31. Netherlands
  32. New Zealand
  33. Nigeria
  34. Panama
  35. Peru
  36. Poland
  37. Republic of Korea
  38. Romania
  39. Rwanda
  40. Saudi Arabia
  41. Singapore
  42. Slovakia
  43. Slovenia
  44. Spain
  45. Sweden
  46. Switzerland
  47. Thailand
  48. Ukraine
  49. United Arab Emirates
  50. United Kingdom
  51. United States of America
  52. Uruguay

Additional resources

The Artemis mission represents humanity's next exciting steps in space exploration with an emphasis on diversity. To read how the mission will proceed visit the NASA Artemis site. Artemis is in many ways the natural successor to the Apollo program which also carried humanity to the moon. Learn more about the Apollo missions with these resources from NASA. here.

Bibliography

The Artemis Accords, [Accessed 01/03/23], [https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis-accords/img/Artemis-Accords-signed-13Oct2020.pdf]

The Artemis Accords, Artemis NASA, [Accessed 01/03/23], [https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis-accords/index.html

The Artemis Accords, Gov.co.uk, [Accessed 01/03/23], https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-artemis-accords

Gateway MoU and Artemis Accords — FAQs, ESA, [Accessed 01/03/23], https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Gateway_MoU_and_Artemis_Accords_FAQs

First Meeting of Artemis Accords Signatories, U.S. Department of State, [Accessed 01/03/23], [https://www.state.gov/first-meeting-of-artemis-accords-signatories]

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Robert Lea
Robert Lea
Senior Writer

Robert Lea is a science journalist in the U.K. whose articles have been published in Physics World, New Scientist, Astronomy Magazine, All About Space, Newsweek and ZME Science. He also writes about science communication for Elsevier and the European Journal of Physics. Rob holds a bachelor of science degree in physics and astronomy from the U.K.’s Open University. Follow him on Twitter @sciencef1rst.

1 Comment Comment from the forums
  • Cosmo47
    Not one mention of neither China nor Russia signing the Artemis Accords -- which therefore does not address the elephant in the room (or the elephant on the Moon): What happens when one country claims a piece of the Moon as its own, over the objections of other countries? What happens when more than one country has its aims set on the same specific region -- such as the poles where ice exists in the shadows? What happens when one country acts aggressively against another when on the Moon? (Is a 'war' declared on the Moon or even on Earth?). I doubt China nor Russia will ever sign these accords because their space exploration goals are inwardly focused but not to improve man's knowledge or well-being. Conflicts in space await us.
    Reply