Lithuania becomes 40th nation to join NASA's Artemis Accords

Written by Copernical Team Friday, 17 May 2024 21:13

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Washington DC (UPI) May 16, 2024

Lithuania has become the 40th nation to sign NASA's Artemis Accords, a pact that defines the peaceful exploration of space. Aušrinė Armonaitė, Lithuania's minister of economy and innovation, signed the accords Wednesday at the Radisson Blu Lietuva hotel in the capital Vilnius, with U.S. Ambassador Kara McDonald in attendance. "Welcome to the Artemis Accords family, Lithuania,"

Lithuania becomes 40th nation to join NASA's Artemis Accords
by Darryl Coote
Washington DC (UPI) May 16, 2024

Lithuania has become the 40th nation to sign NASA's Artemis Accords, a pact that defines the peaceful exploration of space.

Aušrinė Armonaitė, Lithuania's minister of economy and innovation, signed the accords Wednesday at the Radisson Blu Lietuva hotel in the capital Vilnius, with U.S. Ambassador Kara McDonald in attendance.

"Welcome to the Artemis Accords family, Lithuania," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement. "Our nations are strong partners -- and now we expand this partnership to the cosmos."

Founded by NASA four years ago, the Artemis Accords establish principles for peaceful space exploration based on the 1967 Outer Space Treaty. It is also in conjunction with NASA's Artemis campaign to land the first woman, the first person of color and the U.S. agency's first partner astronaut on the moon.

According to NASA, with 40 nations now signed to the pact, this community "will facilitate a long-term and peaceful presence of deep space exploration for the benefit of humanity."

Armonaitė said Lithuania's space sector has undergone rapid growth and that the signing of the Accords marks a new chapter and new course on space exploration.

It also underscores Lithuania's commitment "to a responsible, sustainable and cooperative presence in space," she said.

"We took one more step in strengthening our strategic partnership with [the United States]," Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis of Lithuania added on X.

In the four years since the accords were establishment, a steady stream of nations have joined the pact, with Slovenia becoming the 39th signee last month.

Other nations are expected to continue to join the agreement, as the State Department and NASA lead outreach campaigns and implementation.

"The U.S.-Lithuania relationship has never been stronger," the State Department said in a statment.

"From collaboration in security and defense to partnerships in trade and investment, the relationship between our two countries continues to flourish across a wide range of areas. We extend that partnership into outer space, through the Artemis Accords."