Estonia joins Artemis Accords as moon-exploration coalition agrees to continue outreach efforts

MILAN — The nations signed up to the Artemis Accords are looking to spread the word on common principles and best practices on exploring outer space. 

Estonia became the 45th country to sign up to the Accords just ahead of the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) here, which opened on Monday (Oct. 14). But engagement and enlargement efforts won't stop there.

The Artemis Accords — a set of statements that set out common principles, guidelines and best practices for exploration of the moon and beyond — had its third heads-of-agencies meeting on the sidelines of the IAC in Milan.

NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, Canadian Space Agency (CSA) President Lisa Campbell and Teodoro Valente, president of the Italian Space Agency (ASI), briefed press on the outcomes of the meeting and work undertaken over the last year.

Related: Artemis Accords: What are they & which countries are involved?

Nations agreed to a number of actions, including organizing workshops with emerging countries to involve them in the Artemis Accords framework. They will also seek new members.

"We actually talked, all the signatories, and we will each do outreach and try to bring on more members," Campbell said. "The goal is consensus. You know, every country who has a mission towards space needs partners. We need to agree that we don't interfere with one another, that we will help one another if there's an emergency. 

"Space is hard enough, and we can actually collaborate and help ourselves," Campbell added.

The members will conduct outreach to Asia-Pacific countries, including through the next IAC in Sydney in 2025, to promote the Artemis Accords. 

"I do believe that, in preparation for IAC, there will be a lot more regional work in Asia," said Melroy.

They will also explore opportunities for outreach and engagement with African countries, such as Egypt, to inform them about the Artemis Accords and encourage their participation, Valente stated. 

Egypt, notably, has signed up to the China-led International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), a planned moon base to be constructed in the 2030s.

Asked if China could sign the Accords, Melroy said: "I think China can sign the accords anytime." However, there have been no discussions between China and the United States related to the Artemis Accords, she added.

Meanwhile, the Accords working groups will also continue discussions on the sharing of scientific, operational and engineering data.

"The work focused on six key topics: avoiding interference, interoperability, the sharing of scientific data, applying the guidelines for long-term sustainability of outer space, deep space activities and the registration of space objects," Campbell said.

Another issue of interest is plume surface interaction from lunar landings. "How far does moon dust travel? When a lander lands on the surface of the moon, we know it's kicked up. We don't know how far it goes," Melroy said. "So I think we've identified a lot of technical areas that we need to do more investigation on together as a team, and we'd like to tap into some existing technical models to help us with that."

The focus for the next year's workshop will be on space debris, orbits and space sustainability in lunar orbit, according to the panel.