Germany has signed the US-led multilateral space treaty “Artemis”. The program was launched in 2019 to return astronauts to the moon by 2027.
In order to become a greater part of the exploration of the Moon and Mars that is currently planned primarily by the USA, Germany has become the 29th country to join the international “Artemis” initiative. The Director General of the German Space Agency at the German Aerospace Center (DLR), Walther Pelzer, signed the agreement at the German Embassy in Washington.
Pelzer emphasized that Germany and the USA have “already been successful partners in space travel for a long time”. German companies from the space industry are already making “a central contribution to NASA’s Artemis program” for new moon landings. “The German signing of the ‘Artemis Accords’ gives new impetus to the joint effort to carry out space exploration programs,” explained Pelzer.
According to DLR, the federal government’s space coordinator, Anna Christmann, the German ambassador to Washington, Andreas Michaelis, and NASA boss Bill Nelson also took part in the signing ceremony in Washington.
Nelson welcomed Germany “to the ‘Artemis Accords’ family.” Germany has been “one of NASA’s closest and most capable international partners for a long time.” The signing shows “that Germany plays a leading role now and in the future – a future characterized by limitless possibilities in space and the promise of goodwill here on Earth.”
Signing as a diplomatic act
NASA is bringing together a number of global allies and private companies to implement the Artemis program. The signing of the agreement is considered a diplomatic act with which the participating countries align their space policies and standards in cooperation with the USA.
In addition to Germany, Great Britain, Japan, Italy and Canada, among others, have also joined the agreement. Russia, a permanent partner of NASA on the International Space Station (ISS), had considered participating in the Artemis program but then chose China’s lunar program.
Moon as a test site for spacecraft
The Artemis program was launched in 2019 to return astronauts to the moon by 2027. Several short- and long-term missions under the program aim to use the moon as a spacecraft testing site.
The “Artemis Accords” also lay down principles for cooperation in civil space exploration and the use of the Moon, Mars, comets and asteroids for peaceful purposes.
Critics accuse the USA of wanting to use the agreement to cement its dominance in space and to have a decisive say in the use of the Moon and Mars. There are therefore calls to establish international rules for space travel under the auspices of the UN.