France joins NASA program to explore the Moon

Published on: 08/06/2022 – 03:03 The French space agency signed the text of the declaration known as the “Artemis agreements” in Washington on Tuesday. It is thus associated with the American program of the same name aiming to send astronauts back to the Moon around 2025. Artemis” which plan in particular to create “safety zones” to protect extraterrestrial resources. France thus becomes the 20th country (after in particular Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, Israel, the United Arab Emirates , Brazil…) to join this new wave of peaceful space exploration, specifies the National Center for Space Studies (Cnes), the French space agency. Its CEO Philippe Baptiste signed in Washington, in the presence from NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, the text of the so-called “Artemis Accords” statement. The American program of the same name aims to return astronauts to the Moon around 2025, more than 50 years after the historic moon landing of the Apollo 11 mission. The objective is to eventually establish a lasting human presence. It also provides for the construction of a station which will be assembled in lunar orbit from 2024, the Lunar Gateway, a future springboard for more distant manned flights. “To be counted among the great space powers”The Artemis Accords constitute a set of bilateral agreements with the United States, which are based on the international treaty governing outer space of 1967.”Both for our scientific community and our industry, this new framework will make it possible to face new challenges and to continue to be counted among the major space powers”, welcomed Philippe Baptiste, quoted in a press release. The signatory countries adhere to a dozen principles. applying to their future activities on the Moon, but also on Mars or asteroids: transparency of missions, interoperability of systems, assistance to personnel in the event of distress, sharing of scientific data, preservation of historic sites…Neither China nor RussiaOne measure more controversial provides for the possibility of delimiting “safety zones” to avoid “harmful interference” by a third party, in particular to protect the exploit ation of resources, such as lunar water. And this while the 1967 treaty prohibits any “national appropriation” of these resources. “According to our analysis, the Artemis agreements are not in contradiction with the 1967 treaty,” Pascale Ultré-Guérard told AFP. , Deputy Director of Programs in the Strategy Department at Cnes. The text helps to “cement” France’s commitment to lunar exploration, she added. For example, the Lunar Gateway’s Esprit communication and refueling module is to be designed in France by Thales Alenia Space. The text, unveiled by the United States in 2020, has not been signed by either China or by Russia, who plan to build their own lunar station together. With AFP