US Artemis Accords Hit 50 Signatories in 2024

Austria and Panama signed the Artemis Accords today, bringing the total number of countries signed on to the United States’ flagship international space agreement to 50. NASA and the State Department created the Artemis Accords in 2020 along with seven other initial signatory countries. The Accords outline shared governing principles with the primary goal of avoiding outer space conflicts.

The Artemis Accords discuss issues relating to transparency, interoperability, emergency assistance, registration of space objects, release of scientific data, preserving outer space heritage, space resources, deconfliction of space activities, and orbital debris. The Accords state that signatories can freely share scientific data relating to their own space-related activities with the public. However, countries are expected to coordinate with each other to protect proprietary or export-controlled data when releasing information relating to the activities of other signatories. With regard to private collaboration, the Accords state that, “the commitment to openly share scientific data is not intended to apply to private sector operations unless such operations are being conducted on behalf of a signatory to the Accords.”

The Accords also aim to reinforce the principles of existing diplomatic space agreements, primarily the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, stating: “The Accords represent a political commitment to the principles described herein, many of which provide for operational implementation of important obligations contained in the Outer Space Treaty and other instruments.” Compared to the Outer Space Treaty, the Artemis Accords add specificity to the rules governing lunar exploration and off-world resource utilization.

In addition to Austria and Panama, 15 countries joined the Artemis Accords in 2024: Belgium, Greece, Uruguay, Switzerland, Sweden, Slovenia, Lithuania, Peru, Slovakia, Armenia, Dominican Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Chile, and Denmark.

Separate from the Accords, the Artemis Program, NASA’s lunar exploration effort, was established in 2017. The program involves domestic and international public and private partnerships. While there is plenty of overlap between participants in the Artemis Program and the Artemis Accords, participation in one is not required for participation in the other. For example, both Denmark and Italy have contributed components to the Artemis Program’s Orion Crew Module, but Italy was among the original signatories to the Artemis Accords in 2020, while Denmark did not sign on until late this year.

Artemis I launched in 2022, and Artemis II is set to embark on a 10-day mission in April 2026. NASA plans to use the Artemis missions as an opportunity to improve human space travel and planetary exploration as the agency prepares for future crewed missions to Mars. Artemis I was an uncrewed flight test of the program’s Space Launch System and the Orion spacecraft around the Moon. Artemis II will be the first crewed flight test of those systems. Artemis II was originally set to launch in September 2025, but NASA announced a delay early this month in response to concerns about the crew module’s heat shield that emerged during the reentry of Artemis I. The agency also pushed back the launch of Artemis III to mid-2027.

Notably, China has not signed the Artemis Accords and plans to launch its own international lunar research station in the 2030s. The ILRS has 13 partner countries, including Russia, none of which have signed the Artemis Accords. While there is no overlap between the ILRS and Artemis Accord signatories, some countries have maintained ties with both the U.S. and Chinese space programs; China’s Chang’e-6 and Chang’e-7 missions include payloads from France, Italy, Sweden, and Switzerland, all of which are Artemis Accords signatories.