The Prime Minister of India recently announced the country’s decision to join the Artemis Accords during a visit to the United States. This significant decision is seen as a big step towards increased collaboration between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Together, they will send Indian astronauts, trained at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2024.
About Artemis Accords
Initiated by the U.S. State Department and NASA with seven founding members in 2020, the Artemis Accords aim to establish common principles for governing civil exploration and use of outer space. They provide guidelines for exploring the moon, Mars, comets, and asteroids for peaceful purposes.
The Accords build on the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, a multilateral pact under the United Nations serving as the foundation for international space law. The treaty emphasizes space as a shared resource, prohibiting national appropriation, and promoting the peaceful use of space.
India’s Role in the Artemis Accords
As the 27th signatory of the nonbinding Artemis Accords, India commits to several important actions. These include peaceful space activities, recognizing the importance of common exploration infrastructure, registering space objects, sharing scientific data, preserving heritage sites in space, responsibly utilizing space resources, and planning for safe disposal of spacecraft.
Main Missions under the Artemis Program
The Artemis program begins with Artemis-I, an unmanned mission to the moon launched in November 2022 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Following this, Artemis-II will mark the first crewed mission under the program in 2024, involving multiple maneuvers on an expanding orbit around Earth, a lunar flyby, and return to Earth. The third milestone mission, Artemis III in 2025, will see astronauts return to the moon for extensive study. A long-term goal is to establish a Lunar Gateway station by 2029, facilitating scientific research and experiments.
Benefits and Challenges for India
Joining the Artemis Accords brings several benefits for India, including access to advanced training, technological advancements, and scientific opportunities. It also allows India to further its own lunar exploration goals like the Chandrayaan-3 mission and enhance its capabilities for the Gaganyaan human mission through collaboration with NASA.
Despite these advantages, India faces potential challenges such as being perceived as aligning with the U.S. against other major space powers like China and Russia. Uncertainties over the legal status and implications of the Artemis Accords, particularly over unregulated mining on the moon and other celestial bodies, also pose concerns.
Past, Present, and Future Space Missions
India’s prior successes in space technology, like the Mangalyaan or Mars Orbiter Mission launched by ISRO, made the country the only one successful in making its spacecraft orbit Mars on its very first try. Moreover, questions have been raised over India’s plans to have its own space station and how it would benefit the country’s space program.
As India continues its journey into the cosmos, it is crucial that it navigates the opportunities and challenges presented by the Artemis Accords and continues to contribute positively to global space exploration.