UPDATE - Greece joins US-led Artemis Accords on space exploration

UPDATES WITH NAMES OF ALL 35 SIGNATORIES

By Hakan Copur

WASHINGTON (AA) - Greece became the 35th country to sign the Artemis Accords -- a space exploration program led by the US, which includes establishing a permanent base on the moon.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Greek Foreign Minister Georgios Gerapetritis came together for a signing ceremony in Washington.

Blinken expressed satisfaction with the collaboration of the two countries in space, noting that the Artemis Accords is gaining increasing recognition.

Greece signed the documents as the 35th country to join the accords, following speeches by the two ministers.

- Artemis Accords

Based on the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, the Artemis Accords is known as a multilateral, non-binding declaration of principles and rules to improve responsible exploration of space.

Among the principles of the accords are the registration of space objects, prevention of activity conflicts, sharing of scientific data and provision of emergency assistance.

The US envisions establishing a permanent base on the moon and using it as a stopover for Mars missions and for the extraction of valuable minerals, all under the same agreement framework.

The agreement was announced May 5, 2020.

NASA announced May 16, 2020, that it had signed agreements for the Artemis project with many countries.

Presently, signatories of the Artemis Accords include Angola, Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Columbia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Poland, South Korea, Romania, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, UAE, Ukraine, the UK and the US.

*Written by Alperen Aktas