BAKU, Azerbaijan — A working group of countries signed as much as the Artemis Accords aim to extend transparency and safety of civil lunar exploration missions.
The second agency meeting of Artemis Accords signatories concluded on the sidelines of the 74th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Baku, Oct. 3. The meetings continued efforts to determine principles for secure and sustainable space exploration held for the primary time on the 73rd IAC in Paris last yr.
Representatives from three co-chairing nations presented findings from work groups conducted over the past yr immediately after the meetings.
“Because of this of discussions in Working Group One over the past yr, the signatories reaffirmed the importance of ensuring transparency, and agreed to the necessity to discuss the data of near-term civil mission plans,” said Hiroshi Yamakawa, president of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
“Because of this of careful considerations, signatories discussed an initial set of mission information items that must be disclosed to avoid interference on the surface.”
Specific items include launch and lunar landing dates, mission duration and related deployments. Information concerning scientific activities worthy of special consideration, for instance a quiet zone needed for seismic measurements, also needs to be disclosed.
Information is to be disclosed to signatories of the Artemis Accords and to the United Nations Secretary General when procedures are in place. That is to enable coordination between each mission planners to all avoid interference and ensure safety of missions, Yamakawa said.
“The signatories of the Artemis Accords desire all states with near-term civil lunar mission plans to share information likewise.”
Pam Melroy, NASA deputy administrator, stated that there’s little or no outer space law aside from the Outer Space Treaty from 1967.
“Each of the Artemis Accords signatories and countries have made a call to be a pacesetter in space policy. To start to know how one can transcend the limited law that we now have and understand what responsible exploration is.”
Melroy stated in response to a matter about India’s Chandrayaan-3 lunar landing mission, that the country had shown “remarkable transparency.”
“They showed all the things. They let the world join them online to observe the progress of this event.”
This, Melroy said, was necessary for inspiration and excitement for space exploration. “And in so doing, they upheld the best principles of the Accords.”
The participants also highlighted the contributions and successes of missions involved in lunar exploration over the past yr, including the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO), or Danuri, Artemis 1, and Japan’s recently-launched SLIM lunar lander.
Grzegorz Wrochna, president of the Polish Space Agency (POLSA), presented findings from a second working group. He noted an incredible environment since the Accords at the moment are signed by 29 countries, including eight countries through the last yr. “And we’re very proud that we now have members from all continents now,” Wrochna said.
“We’re working with a deal with engagement within the international community, especially with emerging space countries so as to advance the opportunities for them.”