WASHINGTON — Bulgaria has signed the U.S.-led Artemis Accords outlining principles for cooperation in space exploration, becoming the newest European nation to hitch.
At a Nov. 9 ceremony at NASA Headquarters, Milena Stoycheva, Bulgaria’s minister of innovation and growth, signed the Accords. The country is the thirty second to sign on to the document because it was rolled out three years ago.
“It’s a historical moment for Bulgaria to hitch the Artemis Accords,” Stoycheva said in an announcement. “We consider that pushing the boundaries of human quest in space with the support of AI and deep technologies will ensure peaceful and sustainable coexistence on Earth.”
Bulgaria adds to a growing variety of European countries which have signed the Accords, which in recent months has included the Czech Republic, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands. With Bulgaria’s signing, 10 member states of the European Union and 11 member states of the European Space Agency have joined the Accords.
“Bulgaria has a protracted and proud tradition of space exploration including two astronauts and microgravity plasma studies dating back to the Seventies,” said Mike Gold, chief growth officer of Redwire and a former NASA official who helped lead development of the Artemis Accords. “Bulgaria will add much more diversity, expertise and creativity to the rapidly growing Artemis Accords family of countries.”
The US, which developed the Accords with a core group of countries who joined in 2020, argues that the document builds upon or “operationalizes” the Outer Space Treaty and other international space law by providing details on topics starting from registration of space objects to deconfliction of space activities. Nations who sign the document usually are not necessarily committing themselves to participating in NASA’s Artemis lunar exploration campaign.
“The worldwide partnerships made within the Artemis era will create possibilities that profit members of the Artemis Generation in each our countries and all over the world.” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in an announcement. “Bulgaria’s leadership will help ensure humanity’s journey to the Moon and beyond is completed peacefully, safely, and transparently.”
Bulgaria is the third country to sign the Accords in recent weeks. The Netherlands signed on during a Nov. 1 ceremony and NASA revealed in an announcement about that signing that Iceland had also recently joined.
NASA spokesperson Roxana Bardan told SpaceNews Nov. 7 that Iceland’s embassy in Washington delivered a signed copy of the Accords, dated Oct. 10, to the State Department on Oct. 31. “We hope to jointly rejoice Iceland’s decision to hitch the Artemis Accords family in the approaching weeks,” she said.