India has decided to join Artemis Accord, the United States-led international agreement on civil space exploration.
- US space agency the National Aeronautics and Space Administration or NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) have also agreed for a joint mission to the International Space Station next year.
Key points
- Grounded in the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, the Artemis Accords is a non-binding international agreement.
- It is designed to guide civil space exploration and sustainable use.
- Artemis program is NASA’s initiative to return humans to the Moon, in which it aims to land the first woman and the first person of colour on the Earth’s natural satellite.
- The need for Artemis Accords was realised as the number of mission and operation around Moon by numerous countries and private firms have significantly increased over the years.
- The agreement is meant to reinforce the commitment by the United States and signatory nations for the peaceful use of outer space.
- The Artemis Accords govern principles that describe the best practices in carrying out activities in outer space is intended to increase the safety of operations, reduce uncertainty, and promote the sustainable and beneficial use of space for all humankind.
- The agreement applies to all the civil space activities conducted by the civil space agencies of each signatory. These include activities done on Moon, Mars, comets, and asteroids and other celestial bodies.
