NASA Artemis Accords Founding Nations Agree To Peaceful Moon Exploration

A total of eight nations have signed on as the founders of NASA's Artemis Accords, an agreement in which the nations have vowed to work together peacefully in space. The agreement was reached as part of NASA's Artemis program, which is working around the clock on new lunar missions with the goal of returning humans to the Moon's surface in 2024. NASA calls the accord a 'step forward' in its efforts.

NASA is working with several countries around the world as part of its Artemis program, which will be, according to the space agency's administrator Jim Bridenstine, 'the broadest and most diverse international human space exploration program in history.' He went on to say in announcing the agreement:

With today's signing, we are uniting with our partners to explore the Moon and are establishing vital principles that will create a safe, peaceful, and prosperous future in space for all of humanity to enjoy.

The eight founding nations behind the Artemis Accords are:

- Australia

- Canada

- Italy

- Japan

- Luxembourg

- United Arab Emirates

- United Kingdom

- United States of America

The Artemis Accords is fairly simple in nature, covering things like transparent activities to avoid mishaps, peaceful exploration, agreement to offer emergency help to personnel from other space agencies, registering space objects, compliance with the Outer Space Treaty, making plans to dispose of space debris, and 'preserving outer space heritage,' among other things.