Sweden joins Artemis Accords vowing commitment to peaceful space exploration

Sweden has officially joined the Artemis Accords, becoming the 38th country to pledge its commitment of outlined principles such as transparency, interoperability, and the peaceful use of space.

The Artemis Accords are a set of principles and guidelines for international cooperation in space exploration. They were announced by NASA in May 2020 and named after NASA's Artemis program which is aimed at returning humans to the Moon by the mid-2020s.

The announcement came at a ceremony held in Stockholmon Tuesday (Apr 16) where Sweden's Minister for Education Dr Mats Persson signed the accords.

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The countries that have signed the accords so far are - Angola, Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Columbia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxemburg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Poland, Republic of Korea, Romania, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uruguay

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson stated, “Our nations have worked together to discover new secrets in our Solar System, and now, we welcome you to a global coalition that is committed to exploring the heavens openly, transparently, responsibly, and in peace. The United States and Sweden share the same bedrock principles, and we’re excited to expand these principles to the cosmos.”

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Minister Persson highlighted the significance of this partnership, saying, “By joining the Artemis Accords, Sweden strengthens its strategic space partnership with the U.S. on space covering areas such as Swedish space research and the space industry, which in turn also strengthens Sweden’s total defence capability.”

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The US ambassador to Sweden Erik D Ramanathanalso spoke at the event, pointing out the importance of collaboration in space exploration.

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The Artemis Accords, spearheaded jointly by NASA and the US Department of State, are signed at a national level rather than by individual organisations.

(With inputs from agencies)