NASA has announced that Norway has become the 55th nation to sign the Artemis Accords, a set of principles guiding civil space exploration and use. The signing ceremony took place on May 15, 2025, at the Norwegian Space Agency in Oslo.
What are the Artemis Accords?
The Artemis Accords are a set of guidelines established in 2020 by NASA and seven other founding countries to promote peaceful, transparent, and responsible space exploration. The accords reinforce the commitment to the Outer Space Treaty, Registration Convention, and Rescue and Return Agreement, and outline best practices for civil space exploration and use.
Key Principles of the Artemis Accords
- Peaceful Purposes:
- Cooperative activities should be exclusively for peaceful purposes, consistent with the Outer Space Treaty.
- Transparency: Signatories commit to broadly disseminating information regarding their national space policies and space exploration plans.
- Interoperability: Signatories commit to using reasonable efforts to utilize current interoperability standards and develop new standards when necessary.
- Emergency Assistance: Signatories commit to taking all reasonable efforts to render necessary assistance to astronauts in distress.
- Registration of Space Objects:
- Signatories commit to coordinate regarding registration for cooperative activities involving space objects.
- Release of Scientific Data:
- Signatories commit to the open sharing of scientific data and plan to release scientific results publicly.
- Preserving Outer Space Heritage:
- Signatories intend to preserve historically significant sites and artifacts.
- Space Resources: Signatories agree that space resource extraction and utilization can and should be executed in a manner that complies with the Outer Space Treaty.
- Deconfliction of Space Activities: Signatories will provide public information regarding the location and general nature of their operations and commit to coordinating to avoid harmful interference.
Norway’s Signing of the Artemis Accords
Norway’s Minister of Trade and Industry, Cecilie Myrseth, signed the accords on behalf of the country. Acting NASA Administrator Janet Petro praised Norway’s commitment, saying, “Now, by signing the Artemis Accords, Norway is not only supporting the future of exploration, but also helping us define it with all our partners for the Moon, Mars, and beyond”.
Implications and Future Plans
The signing of the Artemis Accords by Norway demonstrates the country’s commitment to peaceful and cooperative space exploration. However, the future of the Artemis program faces uncertainty due to proposed budget cuts, including the cancellation of the Gateway lunar space station. Despite this, the continued signing of the Artemis Accords by nations like Norway shows growing international support for cooperative space exploration.
