France joins Artemis Accords; becomes 20th member of NASA's space exploration pact

NASA on June 8, welcomed France in its Artemis Accords making the European nation the 20th member of the space exploration pact. Besides, France also became the fifth European Union nation to enter into cooperation for a mission that would send humans back to the Moon later this decade. France was announced as an official member after Philippe Baptiste, president of the French space agency, Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) signed the agreement during an event hosted by the Ambassador of France to the United States, Philippe Étienne in Washington DC. 

Welcoming France as the newest member, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement, "France is one of the United States' oldest allies and our partnership in space exploration dates back more than half a century. That partnership is strengthened by France’s commitment to ensuring the peaceful and responsible exploration of outer space for generations to come". 

(Image: NASA)

Baptiste too emphasised the bilateral space relations between France and the US calling them of "prime importance" especially in "Mars exploration and Earth-observation programmes". he added, "For our scientific community and industry, this new framework will enable us to meet new challenges and continue to be a leading world space power". France's inclusion in the Artemis Accords follows that of Columbia, which joined the pact in early May and became the third Latin American country on the list after Brazil and Mexico.

So far, countries ranging from South Korea in East Asia to Mexico in Central America have joined the pact which aims to unite countries of similar interests for peaceful exploration of deep space. 

About Artemis Accords

The Artemis Accords was established in 2020 by NASA and the U.S. Department of State to reinforce and implement the 1967 Outer Space Treaty. This treaty basically said that the exploration of outer space should be conducted in the interest of humanity and it should be easily accessible to all nations without any discrimination. This includes constructing safety zones around future lunar bases and free sharing of information. 

As the name suggests, it signifies NASA's Artemis Program which will take off later this year and eventually land the first woman and person of colour on the Moon later this decade.