Belgium has signed the so-called Artemis agreements. These are international agreements on the exploration of the moon and other celestial bodies. The Artemis Accords were drawn up by the United States in October 2020. The signature is important for the Belgian space industry and could allow a Belgian astronaut to fly to the moon in the future.
The Artemis Accords contain ground rules for space travel. These include rules for peaceful cooperation, the exchange of scientific data, transparency, limiting space waste and the mining of resources on celestial bodies.
Belgium sees the (legally non-binding) agreement as an important political tool to align space exploration with existing legislation, like the 1967 UN Space Treaty. State Secretary for Science Policy Thomas Dermine (Francophone socialist/PS) and Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib (Francophone liberal/MR) represented our country at the signing ceremony.
Global leaders in space exploration
According to Ms Lahbib, Belgium is one of the global leaders in space exploration. "The signing of the Artemis agreements underlines our continued commitment to sustainable and responsible space exploration and strengthens ties with our international partners," Lahbib said. "It also creates new economic opportunities for our companies, which have world-renowned expertise in the space sector."
Secretary of State Dermine says the signing is a necessary and important condition for the potential participation of a Belgian astronaut in the Artemis programme. Belgian astronaut Raphaël Liégeois is currently being trained to join the astronaut corps of the European Space Agency (ESA). The initial goal is to spend about six months aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
To the US’s advantage?
In the near future the US plans to send astronauts to the moon again within the framework of the Artemis programme. The programme also serves as preparation for a future manned mission to Mars. Earlier this month though, the US space agency NASA postponed the Artemis 2 manned space mission till September 2025. The planned manned lunar landing Artemis 3 was also pushed back to September 2026. For Artemis 4, the target is still September 2028.
Currently, 34 countries, including Belgium, have signed the Artemis agreements. Apart from the US, Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the United Arab Emirates and the UK were the first signatories. The Netherlands also signed late last year.
Criticism
"By signing the accords, Belgium shows that we consider space important, that we want to take further steps and that we consider it important for our space companies as well," space lawyer Sarah Moens told VRT NEWS podcast. "It is an American initiative, but for sure it is meant to benefit everyone."
However, the Artemis accords have also been criticised, especially over the more lenient rules on mining resources in space. Critics believe the rules favour the US too much. China and Russia are also highly critical and have not signed.