artemis accord
India joins th eartemis mission
The News
India and the USA took a monumental step to break new ground in the Space researc, by Signing the Artemis Accord
“Pact will pave the way for easing of restrictions on import of Critical Technologies”
India can participate in the US led Artemis programme for exploration of moon and other celestial objects
What is Artemis accord?
The Artemis Accord is a non-binding agreement with no financial commitments. The purpose of these Accords is,
- to establish a common vision via a practical set of principles, guidelines, and best practices to enhance the governance of the civil exploration and use of outer space with intension of advancing the Artemis program.
- Adherence to a practical set of principles, guidelines, and best practices in carrying out activities in outer space is intended to increase the safety of operations, reduce uncertainty, and promote the sustainable and beneficial use of space for all humankind.
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
Who are the members of the accord?
The Artemis Accord was signed on October 13, 2020 by eight Founder Nations, - Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, UAE, UK and the United States. Its members include the traditional US allies like Japan, France, New Zealand, UK, Canada, South Korea, Australia and Spain while African nations like Rwanda, Nigeria etc are the new partners. Out of 22 European nations only eight (Luxembourg, Italy, UK, Romania, Poland, France, Czech Republic and Spain) have signed the accord.
The principles set out in these accords are intended to apply to
- civil space activities conducted by the civil space agencies of each signatory.
- These activities may take place on the moon, Mars, comets, asteroids, including their surfaces and sub surfaces, as well as in orbit of the Moon or Mars, in the lagrangian points for the Earth-Moon system, and in transit between these celestial bodies and locations.
- The Signatories intend to implement the principles set out in these accords through their own activities by taking, as appropriate, measures such as mission planning and contractual mechanism with entities acting on their behalf.
- All activities under the Artemis Accord will be conducted for peaceful purposes.
- Partner states are to uphold the transparency principle by publicly describing policies and plans.
- Partner nations to utilize open international standards, develop new standards when necessary, and strive to support interoperability.
- Partner nations commit to taking all reasonable steps possible to render assistance to astronauts in distress and determine which of them should register relevant space object in accordance with the Registration Convention.
Obligations
Partner nations are obligated to,
- release their scientific data publicly to ensure that the entire world can benefit from the Artemis journey.
- Member nations are to inform UN about their space activities.
- Partner nations will avoid harmful interference and act in a manner that is consistent with the principles reflected in the Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines of the UNCOPUOS.