Nigeria and Rwanda became the first African nations to sign the NASA Artemis Accords

At the concluded US-AFRICA Leadership Summit, Nigeria and Rwanda became the first African nations to sign the Artemis Accords for the first ever Africa Space Forum. The representatives of the both African countries were present to sign the accord which was initiated by the State Department and NASA.

“The Accords were signed by Minister of Communications and Digital Economy Isa Ali Ibrahim on behalf of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and by Rwanda Space Agency CEO Francis Ngabo on behalf of the Republic of Rwanda. President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, Assistant Secretary for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Monica Medina, and U.S. National Space Council Executive Secretary Chirag Parikh gave remarks at the event.”

“The Artemis Accords represent a bold, multilateral vision for the future of space exploration. Launched by the State Department and NASA together with eight nations in 2020, the Artemis Accords advance bilateral and multilateral space cooperation between signatories, expanding our knowledge of the universe and benefiting the whole world. Signatories commit to principles to guide their civil space activities, including the public release of scientific data, responsible debris mitigation, registration of space objects, and the establishment and implementation of interoperability standards.”

“NASA and the State Department announced the establishment of the Artemis Accords in 2020. The Artemis Accords are a set of principles to guide the next phase in space exploration, reinforcing and providing for important operational implementation of key obligations in the 1967 Outer Space Treaty. The Accords also reinforce the commitment by the United States and signatory nations to the Registration Convention, the Rescue and Return Agreement, as well as guidelines and best practices NASA and its partners have supported, including the public release of scientific data.”

The Accord  have 23 signatories at the moment including Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, France, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Poland, Romania, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States.