Uruguay has become the 36th nation to join the Artemis Accords, a ceremony marking this event took place earlier this week. The Artemis campaign, led by NASA, aims to send the first person of color, the first woman, and its first international partner astronaut to the moon.
The Artemis Accords were initiated in 2020 by NASA, the US State Department, and seven founding nations including Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States. According to a news release on the initial signing of the Artemis Accords, these accords are designed to guide cooperative activities in space exploration while avoiding conflict both in space and on Earth. They also aim to reinforce the 1967 Treaty of Principles Governing the Activities of States in Exploration and Use of Outer Space.
Since their inception, 35 countries have joined the Artemis Accords. Uruguay became the 36th signatory when its Foreign Minister Omar Paganini signed on behalf of his country. Paganini stated during a Feb. 15 news release on the signing that they were honored to introduce space cooperation as a new chapter in their robust bilateral agenda with the U.S., seeing it not as an end but as a beginning for knowledge-intensive activities and new opportunities for their people.
Among those present at this signing event were Pam Melroy, NASA Deputy Administrator; Karen Feldstein from NASA’s Office of International and Interagency Relations; Kevin Sullivan from Department of State; Andres Augusto Duran Hareau, Uruguayan Ambassador to the US; Heide Fulton, U.S. Ambassador to Uruguay; and Bill Nelson who is NASA's Administrator.
Nelson welcomed Uruguay into what he termed as "the Artemis Accords family". In his statement during a Feb. 15 news release announcing Uruguay’s signing of the Artemis Accords he said that both the United States and Uruguay share a commitment to democracy and peace, and now they are expanding these principles into the cosmos to commit to safe and transparent exploration of space.