Chile and Cyprus have become the latest nations to sign the Artemis Accords for sustainable space exploration. This follows a recent surge in new signatories this month, demonstrating the growing global interest in space exploration and cooperation.
At a ceremony held at NASA Headquarters on October 25th, Aisén Etcheverry, Chile’s Minister of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation, signed the Accords on behalf of her country. The ceremony was attended by Chile’s ambassador to the United States, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, and Jennifer Littlejohn, acting assistant secretary of the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs of the State Department.
“The signing marks a significant milestone for Chile, particularly as our government is committed to advancing technological development as a key pillar of our national strategy,” Etcheverry said in a statement. “Moreover, this collaboration allows us to contribute to areas of scientific excellence where Chile has distinguished expertise, such as astrobiology, geology, and mineralogy, all of which are critical for the exploration and colonization of space.”
Chile signed the Accords two days after Cyprus did so in an event in Nicosia, the country’s capital. That event was attended by a State Department official, while Jim Free, NASA associate administrator, participated virtually.
“As we embark on this exciting journey, we reaffirm our commitment to a safe and responsible space exploration, as well as our strong belief in the importance of international cooperation in ensuring space is utilized to the benefit of all humanity,” Nicodemos Damianou, deputy minister of research, innovation, and digital policy of Cyprus, said in a statement. He added that the country, a member of the European Union, “aspires to play an integral role in the international space community.”
These additions bring the total number of nations that have signed the Artemis Accords since 2020 to 47. Four of those countries have signed in October: the Dominican Republic signed on October 4th, and Estonia signed on October 13th, just before Artemis Accords signatories met at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC).
At the IAC meeting, attended by 42 of the 45 countries that had signed the Accords at the time, members discussed implementation details of aspects of the Accords, which outline best practices for sustainable space exploration building on the Outer Space Treaty and other international agreements. They also emphasized efforts to recruit additional countries to sign the Accords.
One issue, officials said at an October 14th media briefing, was the need to build up technical and policy expertise in countries, particularly as the Artemis Accords expands beyond traditional spacefaring nations to those that are only beginning space programs. They noted efforts in regions like Africa and the Asia-Pacific to do so.
“Some of these countries haven’t yet signed the Artemis Accords because they do not fully understand the reasons to be inside it,” said Teodoro Valente, president of the Italian space agency ASI, at the briefing. “This is one of our duties, one of our tasks, to let them know what does it mean, what are the advantages.”