Artemis Accords: As PM Modi Heads To US, Everything About NASA-Led Space Initiative
NASA wants India to be a signatory of Artemis Accords since it is a global power and one of the few countries with independent access to space.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will begin his visit to the United
States from June 21. During his first state visit, PM Modi will hold
discussions with President Joe Biden on improving trade and investment
relations, besides forging closer ties in the technology domain comprising
telecom, space and manufacturing. US space agency NASA is trying to include
India in the Artemis team, which seeks to bring like-minded countries together
on civil space exploration. According to NASA, many countries and private
companies are conducting missions so a common set of principles to govern civil
exploration.
What
are the Artemis Accords?
Initiated by NASA, these are the non-binding multilateral
arrangement between the United States government and other world governments
participating in the Artemis program, an American-led effort to return humans
to the Moon by 2025.
The
ultimate aim of Artemis programme is to expand space exploration to Mars and
beyond.
NASA,
in coordination with the US Department of State, established the Artemis
Accords in 2020 together with seven other founding member nations.
Key
principles of the Artemis Accords
The
accords are signed at national level rather than an organisational level, and
countries do that on a voluntary basis.
One of the key principles of Artemis Accords is to affirm the
importance of compliance with 1967's Outer Space Treaty (or the Treaty on
Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of
Outer Space, Including the moon and Other Celestial Bodies to give it its full
title).
These accords also affirm the importance of Rescue and Return
Agreement opened in 1968, which was opened for signature on April 22, 1968.
The representatives of the countries that signed the accords held
the first in-person meeting at the International Astronautical Congress in
Paris on September 19, 2022.
What do the Artemis Accords say?
In the documents detailing the accords, NASA says they are
meant for peaceful exploration of space, urging nations to be transparent in
their activities, calling upon the signatories to commit to providing emergency
assistance, get their space objects registered and inform the UN and general
public about space resource extraction activities.
Countries involved in the Artemis Accords
According to US State Department website, which co-leads the
accords with NASA, 25 countries have signed the Artemis Accords till May 30,
2023. These are: Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, Canada, Columbia, Czech Republic,
France, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxemburg, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Poland, Republic
of Korea (South Korea), Romania, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain,
Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America.
India and the Artemis Accord
If it becomes a part of the Artemis team, India will become 26th
signatory of the accords. The US is keen to have India on board since it is a
global power and one of the few
countries with independent access to space.
Bhavya Lal, the associate administrator for technology, policy,
and strategy within the office of the NASA Administrator, said last week that
she hopes India would become part of the community that hunts down asteroids
and comets that might impact Earth and cause much distraction.
India and the US recently set up a human space flight working
group under their Initiative of Critical and Emerging Technologies (ICET)
Dialogue.
News is originally taken from: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/artemis-accords-as-pm-modi-heads-to-us-everything-about-nasa-led-space-initiative-4134437
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