The United States welcomes Saudi Arabia’s July 14 signing of the Artemis Accords, affirming its commitment to safe, sustainable and responsible space exploration. Mohammed Saud al-Tamimi, CEO of the Saudi Space Commission, signed the Agreements on behalf of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and was accompanied during a virtual ceremony by Her Royal Highness Princess Reema bint Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Ambassador to the United States, Abdullah bin Amer al-Swaha, Saudi Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Bill Nelson, Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Martina Strong, Chargé d’Affaires, United States Mission to Saudi Arabia and Deputy Chief Deputy Secretary Jennifer R Littlejohn of the Department of State’s Office of Oceans and International Scientific and Environmental Affairs.
The principles of the Artemis Accords, grounded in the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, advance the NASA-led Artemis program that will place the first woman and first person of color on the Moon and pave the way for a human mission to Mars. Artemis has a broad and diverse international coalition working together to achieve a historic and ambitious vision for human space exploration.
As signatories to the Accords, state actors promote responsible behavior in outer space, including by registering space objects, unconflicting activities, disseminating scientific data and providing emergency assistance. Together, the signatories will reduce uncertainty and increase the safety of space operations to facilitate the sustainable use of space for the benefit of all humanity.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the 21st nation to sign the Accords, joining Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, France, Israel, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Romania. , Singapore , Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and United States. Saudi Arabia is the seventh nation to sign the Artemis Accords since January 2022 and the fourth Middle Eastern nation to join.
For more information on the Artemis Agreements, please visit https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis-accords/index.html.
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