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NASA announced that Albania, Croatia, Côte d’Ivoire and San Marino have joined the Artemis Accords, bringing the total to 76 countries. The accords set out principles for peaceful, transparent and coordinated space exploration; participation does not by itself establish specific missions or commitments to NASA programs.
Albania, Croatia, Côte d’Ivoire and San Marino have joined the Artemis Accords, bringing participation to 76 countries, NASA announced. The expansion adds four governments to a U.S.-led framework for peaceful, transparent and coordinated exploration of the Moon, Mars and other destinations.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman welcomed the new signatories and said their participation reflects support for responsible exploration. NASA said nearly one-third of the countries that have signed joined since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term. The agency did not give a specific time period or a detailed breakdown behind that share in the announcement.
The accords set out commitments that include exploring peacefully and transparently, providing aid when needed, sharing scientific data, avoiding interference with other activities, and developing practices to preserve historically significant sites and artifacts. NASA describes them as practical principles for coordinating growing international interest in space activity. Signing the accords does not, on its own, specify a country’s mission schedule or the resources it will contribute.
NASA said signatories have advanced recommendations covering noninterference, interoperability, scientific data sharing and registration. Workshops this year included reviews of planned lunar landings and orbital missions, along with technical sessions on making lunar science data easier to find and share. The announcement did not identify the participating missions or publish the workshop recommendations in detail.
A Broader Framework for Lunar Cooperation
Reaching 76 signatories gives the accords a wider base among countries interested in space exploration. Shared practices for communicating mission plans, registering space objects and exchanging scientific data can help agencies understand one another’s activities as lunar missions increase. These arrangements are intended to support coordination; the announcement does not establish that they resolve every potential dispute or guarantee that missions will avoid interference.
The framework also matters for countries whose space programs are still developing. NASA said the upcoming principals’ meeting will consider ways to support emerging space nations and distribute recommendations on lunar debris mitigation. Broader participation could give more governments a role in shaping practical expectations for space activity, while the level of involvement and capacity each signatory brings remains a separate question.
NASA also said it has invited every signatory to participate in the agency’s return to the Moon through possible scientific payloads, technology demonstrations, CubeSats and other capabilities. That invitation creates an avenue for cooperation, but it is not evidence that every country will take part in a particular mission.
From 2020 Launch to 76 Signatories
The United States, NASA and the U.S. Department of State launched the Artemis Accords in 2020 with seven other countries. NASA presented the framework as a response to growing international interest in lunar activity and as a set of practical principles to guide exploration beyond Earth. The accords build on existing international space law, including the 1967 Outer Space Treaty; they do not replace that treaty.
According to NASA, the group has since adopted a Signatories Group Method of Operations, in 2024. The agency says signatories meet twice a year: at a technical workshop and at a principals’ meeting held during the International Astronautical Congress. Virtual sessions are also used during the year to support implementation. NASA characterized the expansion as one of the fastest in international civil space cooperation, but its announcement did not provide comparative data or a defined measurement period for that assessment.
NASA said nearly 40% of the world’s nations are now participating and nearly two-thirds of countries that signed the Outer Space Treaty have also signed the accords. Those figures are NASA’s characterization of participation; the announcement does not state the underlying country counts or calculation date.
Participation Does Not Set Mission Roles
NASA’s announcement confirms the four countries’ accession and the total of 76 signatories, but it does not say what specific missions, funding or technical contributions each new signatory plans. It also does not explain whether any of the four countries intend to join a particular Artemis mission.
The release provides limited detail on the implementation recommendations discussed in workshops, including how they will be adopted or assessed. NASA’s participation percentages and description of the pace of growth are not accompanied by underlying calculations in the announcement. The timing of additional signings is also unknown.
October Meeting Sets the Next Agenda
NASA said the next Artemis Accords Principals’ Meeting is scheduled to begin Monday, Oct. 5, during the International Astronautical Congress in Antalya, Türkiye. NASA Deputy Administrator Matt Anderson and Major General Roberto Melgar Sheen, director of Peru’s space agency CONIDA, are set to co-chair the meeting, according to the agency. The source does not specify the year for this October date.
The meeting is expected to examine support for emerging space nations and ways to distribute lunar debris-mitigation recommendations. NASA has said it expects more countries to join over time, but has not named prospective signatories or announced a timetable.
Key Questions
Which countries have just joined the Artemis Accords?
Albania, Croatia, Côte d’Ivoire and San Marino are the four countries NASA welcomed in its announcement.
How many countries have signed the accords?
NASA says the total is 76 countries following the four new signatories.
What do the Artemis Accords ask signatories to do?
The principles include peaceful and transparent exploration, assistance to those in need, scientific data sharing, avoiding interference with other activities, and developing practices to preserve historically significant sites and artifacts.
Does signing mean a country will join a NASA lunar mission?
No specific mission role follows automatically from signing. NASA says it has invited all signatories to contribute to its return to the Moon through possible payloads, demonstrations, CubeSats or other capabilities, but the announcement does not say which countries will participate.
Source: primary
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