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Introduction to Artemis Accords with animated Artemis logo, text and images of Moon and Mars.

Principles for a Safe, Peaceful, and Prosperous Future

Through the Artemis campaign, NASA will land the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut on the Moon, make new scientific discoveries, and explore more of the lunar surface than ever before for the benefit of all.

While NASA is leading Artemis, international partnerships will play a key role in achieving a sustainable and robust presence at the Moon where the agency will prepare for the first human mission to Mars.

With numerous countries and private companies conducting missions and operations around the Moon, a common set of principles to govern the civil exploration and use of outer space is necessary.

NASA, in coordination with the U.S. Department of State, established the Artemis Accords in 2020 together with seven other founding member nations. The accords reinforce the commitment by the United States and signatory nations to the Registration Convention, the Rescue and Return Agreement, as well as best practices and norms of responsible behavior that NASA and its partners support, including the public release of scientific data.

Peaceful Purposes

Nine crew members gather for a group portrait in the International Space Station's Kibo laboratory following a joint crew news conference. This is the first time since October 2009 that nine people have resided on the station without the presence of a space shuttle.
Pictured clockwise (from bottom right) are European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano and NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg, both Expedition 37 flight engineers; Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin, Expedition 37 commander; Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin, Russian cosmonaut Sergey Ryazanskiy, NASA astronaut Rick Mastracchio, Expedition 38 flight engineers; Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kotov, Expedition 38 commander; Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata and NASA astronaut Michael Hopkins, both Expedition 38 flight engineers. The Expedition 37 crew members will undock from the station in their Soyuz TMA-09M spacecraft on Nov. 10, ending a five-and-a-half month stay.

International cooperation on Artemis is intended not only to bolster space exploration but to enhance peaceful relationships between nations. Therefore, at the core of the Artemis Accords is the requirement that all activities will be conducted for peaceful purposes, per the tenets of the Outer Space Treaty.

Transparency

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson adds his signature to an Artemis banner inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout (O&C) Building during a visit to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 27, 2021. While at the O&C, Nelson had the opportunity to view some of the flight hardware for Artemis II – the first test flight of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft with crew on board.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson adds his signature to an Artemis banner inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout (O&C) Building during a visit to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 27, 2021.

Transparency is a key principle for responsible civil space exploration and NASA has always taken care to publicly describe its policies and plans.

Artemis Accords partner nations will be required to uphold this principle by publicly describing their own policies and plans in a transparent manner.

Interoperability

Artist rendering of astronaut working on the moon.
Artist rendering of astronaut working on the moon.
NASA

Interoperability of systems is critical to ensure safe and robust space exploration.

Therefore, the Artemis Accords call for partner nations to utilize open international standards, develop new standards when necessary, and strive to support interoperability to the greatest extent practical.

Emergency Assistance

Artist concept of Artemis astronaut stepping onto the Moon.
A concept image of an Artemis astronaut stepping onto the lunar surface.
NASA

Providing emergency assistance to those in need is a cornerstone of any responsible civil space program.

Therefore, the Artemis Accords reaffirm NASA’s and partner nations’ commitments to the Agreement on the Rescue of Astronauts, the Return of Astronauts and the Return of Objects Launched into Outer Space.

Additionally, under the Accords, NASA and partner nations commit to taking all reasonable steps possible to render assistance to astronauts in distress.

Registration of Space Objects

Commercial landers will carry NASA-provided science and technology payloads to the lunar surface
Artist’s illustration of commercial lander that will carry NASA-provided science and technology payloads to the lunar surface

Registration is at the very core of creating a safe and sustainable environment in space to conduct public and private activities. Without proper registration, coordination to avoid harmful interference cannot take place.

The Artemis Accords reinforces the critical nature of registration and urges any partner which isn’t already a member of the Registration Convention to join as soon as possible.

Release of Scientific Data

Elevation (left) and shaded relief (right) image of Shackleton, a 21-km-diameter (12.5-mile-diameter) permanently shadowed crater adjacent to the lunar south pole. The structure of the crater's interior was revealed by a digital elevation model constructed from over 5 million elevation measurements from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter.
Elevation (left) and shaded relief (right) image of Shackleton, a 21-km-diameter (12.5-mile-diameter) permanently shadowed crater adjacent to the lunar south pole. The structure of the crater’s interior was revealed by a digital elevation model constructed from over 5 million elevation measurements from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter.
NASA

NASA has always been committed to the timely, full, and open sharing of scientific data.

Artemis Accords partners will agree to follow NASA’s example, releasing their scientific data publicly to ensure that the entire world can benefit from the Artemis journey of exploration and discovery.

Protecting Heritage

Apollo 16 Lunar Module Pilot Charles Duke salutes the flag
Apollo 16, Lunar Module Pilot Charles Duke salutes the flag.

Protecting historic sites and artifacts will be just as important in space as it is here on Earth.

Therefore, under Artemis Accords agreements, NASA and partner nations will commit to the protection of sites and artifacts with historic value.

Space Resources

Illustration of Artemis astronauts on the Moon.
Illustration of Artemis astronauts on the Moon.

The ability to extract and utilize resources on the Moon, Mars, and asteroids will be critical to support safe and sustainable space exploration and development.

The Artemis Accords reinforce that space resource extraction and utilization can and will be conducted under the auspices of the Outer Space Treaty, with specific emphasis on Articles II, VI, and XI.

Deconfliction of Activities

An illustration of astronauts on the Moon.
An illustration of astronauts on the Moon.

Avoiding harmful interference is an important principle of the Outer Space Treaty which is implemented by the Artemis Accords.

Specifically, via the Artemis Accords, NASA and partner nations will provide public information regarding the location and general nature of operations which will inform the scale and scope of ‘Safety Zones’.

Notification and coordination between partner nations to respect such safety zones will prevent harmful interference, implementing Article IX of the Outer Space Treaty and reinforcing the principle of due regard.

Orbital Debris and Spacecraft Disposal

This view of the north polar region of the Moon was obtained by NASA Galileo camera during the spacecraft flyby of the Earth-Moon system on December 7 and 8, 1992.
This view of the north polar region of the Moon was obtained by NASA’s Galileo camera during the spacecraft flyby of the Earth-Moon system on December 7 and 8, 1992. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00126

Preserving a safe and sustainable environment in space is critical for both public and private activities.

NASA and partner nations will agree to plan for the mitigation of orbital debris, including the safe, timely, and efficient passivation and disposal of spacecraft at the end of their missions.

This graphic displays the flags of the nations that have signed the Artemis Accords against a background image of the Moon in the blackness of space. The graphic is titled “Artemis Accords.” The words, “United for Peaceful Exploration of Deep Space” appear on the bottom of the image.
This graphic displays the flags of the nations that have signed the Artemis Accords against a background image of the Moon in the blackness of space. The graphic is titled “Artemis Accords.” The words, “United for Peaceful Exploration of Deep Space” appear on the bottom of the image.

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A sunrise view of the Artemis I Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft at Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 21, 2022. The SLS and Orion atop the mobile launcher were transported to the pad on crawler-transporter 2 for a prelaunch test called a wet dress rehearsal. Artemis I will be the first integrated test of the SLS and Orion spacecraft. In later missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the surface of the Moon, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and serving as a steppingstone on the way to Mars.