WASHINGTON – Peru and Slovakia signed the Artemis Accords outlining best practices for responsible space exploration, bringing the number of countries that have signed to 42.
In separate ceremonies at NASA headquarters on May 30, Peruvian Foreign Minister Javier González-Olaechea and Tomáš Drucker, Slovakia's Minister of Education, Research, Development and Youth, signed the Artemis Accords alongside officials from NASA and the United States Department of State.
Peru, a country with limited space capabilities, emphasized how the signing of the Artemis Accords could open doors for the country. “This opportunity will allow Peru to participate in activities related to the exploration and sustainable use of space resources, as well as promote the scientific and aerospace development of our country,” said González-Olaechea at the signing ceremony.
Peru signaled its intention to sign the Accords at a High Level Dialogue meeting between the United States and Peru on May 9, according to a State Department. statement, which also noted that Peru pledged not to test direct-ascent anti-satellite missiles. Peru has not expressed any interest or ability to conduct such tests.
Drucker spoke of the interest that Slovakia, a member of the European Union and an associate member of the European Space Agency, has in space sustainability, which is a key aspect of the Artemis Accords. Slovakia is one of A dozen European countries signed the Zero Debris Charter led by ESA. on limiting the creation of orbital debris on May 22.
“In the current expansion of space activities, it is very important to establish rules for the long-term security of outer space,” he said. “These rules should ensure that space activities are safe, clean and sustainable, benefiting all nations. By fostering business and public-private partnerships and accelerating international cooperation, we can achieve these goals together.”
“At the heart of the Artemis Accords are two truths, and the first is that space presents challenges that no nation, no matter how determined, can solve alone. And therefore we do not go alone, we go together,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said at Slovakia's signing ceremony. “The second truth is that space is an engine of association. “Space unites nations like few other things can.”
Peru and Slovakia are the eighth and ninth nations, respectively, to sign the Artemis Accords this year, bringing the total number of nations that have signed it to 42. At the Meridian Space Diplomacy Forum in April, officials from NASA and the Department of State, which jointly administers the Accords, They said they were seeing growing interest in the Accords.
“The increasingly rapid growth of the Artemis Accords demonstrates a global belief in a better future for humanity in space,” Mike Gold, chief growth officer at Redwire and a former NASA official who led the development of the Artemis Accords, told SpaceNews. the Artemis Accords. “In a time when we see so much conflict and pain in the world, Artemis provides a light that can show us a path to a future full of wonder.”
The signing ceremonies took place a week after 24 of the then 40 countries that signed the Accords gathered at the Canadian Space Agency headquarters outside Montreal for a second annual workshop. Participants discussed topics such as non-interference and interoperability, two elements of the Agreements, and also carried out a tabletop exercise on these topics.
Representatives from the Artemis Accords nations are scheduled to meet again in person during the International Astronautical Congress in Milan, Italy, in October.
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