NIGERIA and Rwanda have become the first African countries to sign the Artemis Accords, a multilateral vision for the future of peaceful exploration and use of outer space.
Launched by the US State Department and NASA, together with eight nations in 2020, the Accords aim to expand knowledge of the universe.
Signatories commit to principles to guide their civil space activities, including the public release of scientific data, responsible debris mitigation, registration of space objects and the establishment and implementation of interoperability standards.
The Accords were signed by Nigeria’s Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Ibrahim, and by the CEO of the Rwanda Space Agency, Francis Ngabo, at the first US-Africa Space Forum in Washington as part of the US-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington.
Although the two signatories did not give detailed plans on how their countries will participate in the programme, a State Department official said that was not a condition for signing.
The Accords now boast 23 signatories from around the world, representing a diverse set of space interests and capabilities.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and the State Department’s Monica Medina said that they hoped other African countries would sign the Accords.
‘We are so delighted to welcome Nigeria and Rwanda as the first two African nations to sign the Artemis Accords,’ said Medina.
‘But I certainly hope they will not be the last.’
Brian Weeden of the Secure World Foundation, which works towards using outer space to contribute to global stability and benefits, said that emerging countries that signed the Accords were looking for different things.
‘It’s not just to go to the moon but also benefits on Earth.
‘They’re still looking for how does this help our citizens; how does it help our economy.’