France joins Artemis Accords, a U.S.-led effort to establish best practices for sustainable space exploration. Philippe Baptiste, president of the French space agency CNES, signs the agreement. The signing ceremony was part of an event to mark the 60th anniversary of CNES.
France becomes the 20th nation to sign the Artemis Accords. The Accords establish norms of behavior on topics ranging from scientific data to the utilization of space resources. France signaled its interest in signing the Accords last fall when French President Emmanuel Macron met with Kamala Harris.
Signing the accords, industry insiders say, helps dispel the notion of European reticence to sign. Five of the 20 signatories are E.U. members. A steady stream of countries has signed the Accords since they came into effect in 2020.
The Artemis Accords was not the only agreement the two nations signed on June 7. At a separate event, the United States, represented by NOAA, formally joined the Space Climate Observatory, a French-led effort to share satellite data to monitor climate change.
Source: Space News
Name of Author: Jeff Foust