NASA welcomes four new nations to Artemis Accords, reaching 76 signatories

NASA welcomed four new Artemis Accords signatories — Albania, Croatia, Côte d’Ivoire and San Marino — bringing total participation to 76 countries, the agency announced.

“Our momentum reflects a growing commitment to peaceful, responsible exploration and a shared understanding that the future in space will be shaped by those willing to lead,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said. He noted that nearly one-third of signatories have joined since the start of President Trump’s second term, as the president has directed NASA to return Americans to the lunar surface and lay the groundwork for Mars.

NASA described the recent growth as one of the most rapid expansions of international cooperation in civil space history. Nearly 40% of the world’s nations are now collaborating with NASA on an approach to space exploration intended to be transparent, peaceful, responsible and safe, the agency said. Nearly two-thirds of the countries that signed the 1967 Outer Space Treaty have also signed the Artemis Accords.

The group began as an informal coalition of a small number of countries and is now guided by the Signatories Group Method of Operations, adopted in 2024. Under that framework, signatories meet twice a year — at a technical workshop and at a Principals’ Meeting during the International Astronautical Congress — with additional virtual sessions throughout the year.

Participating countries have advanced agreed-upon recommendations on noninterference, interoperability, scientific data sharing and registration practices, according to NASA. At two workshops this year, signatories reviewed planned lunar landings and orbital missions and worked on ways to make lunar science data easier to find, use and share, including common standards that reduce interference between missions.

This year’s Artemis Accords Principals’ Meeting will begin Monday, Oct. 5, in Antalya, Türkiye. NASA Deputy Administrator Matt Anderson and Maj. Gen. Roberto Melgar Sheen, director of the Peruvian Space Agency, will co-chair the meeting, which will examine ways to support emerging space nations and disseminate lunar debris-mitigation recommendations.

NASA said it has invited every signatory to participate in its return to the Moon through scientific payloads, technology demonstrations, CubeSats and other contributions to the Moon Base effort.

The United States, led by NASA and the State Department, launched the Artemis Accords with seven other nations in 2020. The accords set out practical principles for safer, better-coordinated exploration of the Moon, Mars and beyond. Signatories commit to peaceful and transparent exploration, rendering aid to those in need, enabling access to scientific data, avoiding interference with other missions and preserving historically significant sites and artifacts.

NASA said it expects more countries to join in the months and years ahead.