Latvia to Become the 60th Participant of the Artemis Accords: An International Initiative for Peaceful Space Exploration
Latvia will officially join the international Artemis Accords initiative and become the 60th country to sign these agreements for the peaceful and responsible use of space.
What is Known
These principles are based on the provisions of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty and aim to ensure transparency, peaceful use of space, and responsible exploration of the Moon and deep space.
In October, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Hungary also joined the accords. With these countries, the total number of signatories in October doubled. Previously, in 2025, Senegal, Norway, Bangladesh, and Finland had signed the accords.
According to the English-language version of the press release, Latvia expressed its intention to join the accords, but its official inclusion was likely postponed due to the prolonged shutdown of the US government. NASA noted that the signing ceremony is likely to take place after the restoration of government activities.
The Artemis Accords are not a part of NASA's Artemis program but conceptually support its directions. Within this program, the agency plans to launch the Artemis 2 mission in February 2026, which will be the first crewed flight to the Moon since 1972. The Artemis 3 mission, which envisages landing astronauts on the lunar surface, is scheduled for 2027 or 2028.
October marked the fifth anniversary of the launch of the Artemis Accords.
Source: Space.com
