Estonia joins the Artemis Accords: Moon Exploration Alliance

SCIENCE: MILAN — Nations signing the Artemis Accords want to communicate common principles and best practices on the exploration of outer space. Estonia became the 45th country to sign the agreement just ahead of the International Astronautical Congress (IAC), which began on Monday (Oct. 14). But efforts to engage and expand won’t stop there.

The third major agencies meeting of the Artemis Accords — a set of statements setting out common principles, guidelines and best practices for the exploration of the moon and beyond — took place during the IAC in Milan. NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, Canadian Space Agency (CSA) President Lisa Campbell and Italian Space Agency (ASI) President Teodoro Valente briefed the press on the results of the meeting and the work done over the past year.

The nations agreed on a number of actions, including holding workshops with emerging countries to bring them into the framework of the Artemis Accords. They will also seek new members.

“We’ve actually talked to all the signatories, and we’ll all work together and try to get more members,” Campbell said. “The goal is consensus. You know, every country that has a mission toward space needs partners. We need to agree that we don’t interfere with each other’s work, that we’ll help each other if there’s an emergency.