Romania becomes 16th country to join Artemis Accords

Romania, through the Romanian Space Agency, signed the Artemis Accords – a set of nonbinding commitments to facilitate the peaceful and safe exploration of outer space. The Accords were announced in 2020 by NASA and the US Department of State, and are now signed by a total of 16 countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, the UK, and the USA. According to NASA, the Artemis Accords are grounded in the 1967 Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (the Outer Space Treaty). They outline a series of principles to guide civil space actors, such as peaceful purposes, transparency, interoperability, emergency assistance, registration of space objects, release of scientific data, deconfliction of activities, protection of space heritage, and mitigation of orbital debris, including spacecraft disposal.