The Artemis Accords are a non-binding set of principles for outer space exploration and development, established through a series of bilateral agreements between the United States and partner nations. The Accords are related to the Artemis program, an American-led effort to return humans to the Moon in 2028, with the ultimate goal of expanding space exploration to Mars and beyond.
As of September 14, 2026, with the accession of Djibouti, 72 countries have signed the Accords, including 32 in Europe, 17 in Asia, 8 in South America, 5 in North America, 8 in Africa, and 2 in Oceania.
Drafted by NASA and the US Department of State, the Accords establish a framework for cooperation in the civil exploration and peaceful use of the Moon, Mars, and other astronomical objects. The broader legal status of space mining remains unclear. Proponents argue the Accords oblige signatories to uphold the United Nations Outer Space Treaty of 1967, and that they cite most major UN-brokered conventions constituting space law. Critics have argued the Accords violate the Outer Space Treaty's prohibition of national appropriation of outer space by allowing signatories to claim resources extracted from the Moon, asteroids, and other bodies, that this favors US and commercial mining interests, and that they subvert the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs.
The Accords were originally signed on October 13, 2020, by representatives of the national space agencies of eight countries: Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The Accords remain open for signature indefinitely, as NASA anticipates more nations joining. Additional signatories can choose to directly participate in Artemis program activities, or may agree simply to commit to the principles for responsible exploration of the Moon as set out in the Accords.
Contents
History
On May 5, 2020, Reuters published an exclusive report that the Donald Trump administration was drafting a new international agreement for mining on the Moon, which would draw from the 1967 Outer Space Treaty. Ten days later, then-NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine officially announced the Artemis Accords, a series of agreements with partner nations aimed at establishing a governing framework for exploring and mining the Moon.
The Accords originated from the eponymous Artemis Program, an American plan launched in 2017 to send the first woman and the next man to the Moon by 2024. Bridenstine stated that the agreements were intended to create a uniform set of guidelines for countries to avoid potential conflict or misunderstanding in future space endeavors; governments that sign the Accords may formally take part in the Artemis Program. The Accords were drafted by NASA, the U.S. Department of State, and the newly re-established National Space Council; a draft was released to several governments for consultation before the final document was announced in May 2020.
On October 13, 2020, in a recorded and livestreamed ceremony, the Accords were signed by the directors of the national space agencies of the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, Luxembourg, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates. The head of the Ukrainian national space agency signed the Accords exactly one month later.
In 2021, South Korea became the tenth country to sign the Accords, with New Zealand joining a week later. The following June, Brazil became the first country in Latin America to join the Artemis Accords, after previously indicating its intent to sign in 2020. Poland signed the Accords at the 72nd International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Dubai, with the head of the Polish Space Agency expressing a desire to develop indigenous Polish space technology. Mexico joined the Accords in December 2021.
In 2022, the number of signatories of the Accords more than doubled from the previous year: Israel signed, followed by Romania, Bahrain, and Singapore in March; Colombia in May, and France on June 7, 2022, the 60th anniversary of the founding of its space program (pursuant to meetings in November 2021 between U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and French President Emmanuel Macron in which he expressed France's intent to join). Saudi Arabia signed the Accords on July 14, 2022, becoming the fourth Middle Eastern and third Arab country to join. On December 13, 2022, at the United States–Africa Leaders Summit 2022, Rwanda and Nigeria became the first African nations to sign the Artemis Accords. Representatives from signatory nations held their first meeting on September 19, 2022, at the IAC to discuss the Accords and cooperation in space more broadly.
Principles
Although a prerequisite for taking part in the Artemis Program, the Accords have been interpreted as codifying key principles and guidelines for exploring space generally. Their stated purpose is to "provide for operational implementation of important obligations contained in the Outer Space Treaty and other instruments." The Accords are a single document, signed by each country that commits to the Accords' principles. Bilateral agreements between space agencies for specific operations on the Moon and beyond are expected to reference the Accords and implement them in particular projects.
The provisions:
Affirm that cooperative activities under these Accords should be exclusively for peaceful purposes and in accordance with relevant international law.
Confirm a commitment to transparency and to share scientific information, consistent with Article XI of the Outer Space Treaty.
Call for a commitment to use reasonable efforts to utilize current interoperability standards for space-based infrastructure, and to establish standards when they do not exist or are inadequate.
Call for a commitment to take all reasonable efforts to render necessary assistance to personnel in outer space who are in distress and according to their obligations under the Rescue and Return Agreement.
Specify responsibility for the registration of objects in space, as required by the Registration Convention
Call for a commitment to publicly share information on their activities and to the open sharing of scientific data. While doing so, signatories agree to coordinate with each other to provide appropriate protection for any proprietary and/or export-controlled information, and this provision does not extend to private sector operations unless conducted on behalf of a signatory.
Include an agreement to preserve outer space heritage, which they consider to comprise historically significant human or robotic landing sites, artifacts, spacecraft, and other evidence of activity, and to contribute to multinational efforts to develop practices and rules to do so.
Bilateral accords
Multi-Purpose Habitation module agreement between NASA and ASI
Reactions
Support
The Artemis Accords have generally been welcomed for advancing international law and cooperation in space. Observers claim that the substance of the Accords is "uncontentious" and represent a "significant political attempt to codify key principles of space law" for governing nations' space activities. International legal scholars also credit the agreement with helping influence space exploration in the direction of uniform standards of cooperation and peaceful use. The Accords have also been lauded for being the first time several nations have agreed to recognize the presence of human cultural heritage in outer space and the need to protect it.
With Australia signing and ratifying both the Moon Treaty as well as the Artemis Accords, there has been a discussion if they can be harmonized. In this light an Implementation Agreement for the Moon Treaty has been advocated for, as a way to compensate for the shortcomings of the Moon Treaty and to harmonize it with other laws, allowing it to be more widely accepted.
Criticism
The Accords have also been criticized for allegedly being "too centered on American and commercial interests." Russia has condemned them as a "blatant attempt to create international space law that favors the United States." In light of the Wolf Amendment, Chinese government affiliated media has called the Accords "akin to European colonial enclosure land-taking methods." Russia and China have since reached an understanding to work together on the Chinese International Lunar Research Station concept, to serve as a potential competing option for third parties such as Pakistan.
Two researchers writing in Science magazine's Policy Forum have called on countries to speak up about their objections, and argued that the United States should go through the United Nations treaty process in order to negotiate on space mining. They were concerned NASA's Accords, if accepted by many nations, would enable the Accords' interpretation of the Outer Space Treaty to prevail. Acceptance of the Artemis Accords is a prerequisite for participation in NASA's Artemis lunar program.
Critics also contend that since the Outer Space Treaty expressly forbids nations from staking claim to another planetary body, the Accords violate space law by allowing signatories to lay claim to any resources extracted from celestial objects. Frans von der Dunk of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln claims the Accords strengthen "the US interpretation of the Outer Space Treaty", namely "the basic right for individual States to allow the private sector to become engaged" in commercial activities. The weakened alternative interpretation is that "unilateral approval of commercial exploitation is not in compliance with the Outer Space Treaty, and that only an international regime, notably—presumably—including an international licensing system, could legitimise such commercial exploitation."