Sweden and Slovenia Joins Artemis Accords

Context

Sweden and Slovenia recently became the 38th and 39th country respectively to sign the Artemis Accords.

Key Highlights

• The Artemis Accords are a set of principles and guidelines for global cooperation in space exploration.
  • They aren’t a legally binding instrument.
• They had been announced by NASA in 2020 and named after NASA’s Artemis program which is aimed toward returning people to the Moon by the mid-2020s.
• The Accords mirror ideas set out in 1967, as a part of the Outer Space Treaty to assist govern international cooperation space.
• Members: Artemis Accords has 39 contributors inclusive of Australia, France, Germany, India, Japan, United Kingdom, United States of America and many others.
  • India joined the Artemis Accords in 2023.
  • Russia and China are not part of the Artemis Accords.

Key Principles of the Artemis Accords

• Peaceful Exploration of space: All activities conducted under the Artemis program must be carried out for peaceful purposes in accordance with international law.  
• Transparency: Signatory countries should conduct their activities in a transparent manner. The Accords nation: “Artemis Accords signatories commit to the public launch of scientific data, allowing the whole world to join us at the Artemis journey.”
• Interoperability: Nations taking part within the Artemis program should aim to expand and offer guidance for systems that could work along with existing infrastructure.
• Emergency Assistance: Nations signing the Artemis Accords are devoted to assisting astronauts and personnel in outer space who’re in misery. 
• Registration of Space Objects: Nations participating in Artemis have to decide which of them should determine which of them should register any relevant space object. 
• Preserving Heritage: Artemis Accords signatories have committed to preserving humanity’s outer space heritage consisting of human or robotic landing sites, artifacts, spacecraft, and other evidence of activity on other celestial bodies.
• Space Resources: The accord signatories verify that extracting and using space sources from the celestial bodies indexed, is essential to supporting safe and sustainable space exploration. 
• Deconfliction of Activities: Nations are committed to preventing dangerous interference and exercise the principle of due regard. This also covers the establishment of “protection zones” with regions that may be hooked up among countries and which may be ended while relevant operations cease. 
• Orbital Debris: Countries are committed to making plans for the safe, timely and green disposal of particles as a part of the undertaking making plans process. 

Significance of Artemis Accords for India

• Collaboration between ISRO and NASA: NASA will offer superior education to Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) astronauts with the purpose of launching a joint attempt to the International Space Station.
• Vision of Global Space Power: This settlement holds big significance for India to set up itself as a global space electricity.
  • It will benefit space exploration pursuits underneath the new space coverage especially by global collaboration as all signatories to the accords decide to the open sharing of scientific records and assist each other in the efforts. 
• Technology Transfer: Artemis Accords could probably liberalize some of the ones technology transfer hurdles which can be there among the USA and India.
  • India’s being a part of Artemis Accords highlights its willpower to global space cooperation and a keen interest in collaborating in lunar exploration missions.
  • This collaboration allows the sharing of understanding and expertise, contributing to the development of scientific studies, technological improvement, and the expansion of human’s presence in space.
• International Cooperation: Now India is much more open to international collaborations and open to exploring uncharted territories.
  • It also opens up markets for Indian groups with all of the different signatories of the Artemis Accord.

Source: Indian Express

UPSC Mains Practice Question

Q.What is India’s plan to have its own space station and how will it benefit our space programme? (2019)

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