Switzerland and Sweden have joined the Artemis Accords program, an initiative established by NASA and the U.S. Department of State (DOS) in 2020. The program seeks to foster international cooperation in space exploration and promote peaceful relations among nations.
According to a DOS news release, Switzerland became the 37th member of the Artemis Accords on April 15, followed by Sweden as the 38th member on April 16. The signing ceremonies were attended by NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Director of the State Department’s Office of Space Affairs Valda Vikmanis Keller. Swiss Federal Councillor and Head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education, and Research Guy Parmelin signed for Switzerland at NASA headquarters. In Stockholm, Sweden's Minister for Education Dr. Mats Persson signed for his country in the presence of U.S. Ambassador Erik Ramanathan.
"Today, we marked a giant leap forward in the partnership between the United States and Switzerland," said Nelson. "As we welcome you into the Artemis Accords family, we expand our commitment to explore the unknown openly and peacefully. Discovery strengthens goodwill on Earth, and we are excited to expand our countries’ shared values and principles to the cosmos."
Parmelin stated that "Switzerland has a long-standing partnership with NASA on human space exploration as well as space and Earth sciences." He added that "With the signature of the Artemis Accords we renew our commitment to jointly explore the heavens above us."
The DOS news release also noted that both DOS and NASA lead efforts to implement a set of principles guiding space exploration. Other countries involved in this endeavor include Angola, Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico,the Netherlands , New Zealand , Nigeria , Poland , Republic of Korea , Romania , Rwanda , Saudi Arabia , Singapore , Spain , Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States and Uruguay.
