Argentina signs NASA’s Artemis Accords

"We want Argentina as a partner in our space projects," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson

Argentina signed the Artemis Accords on Thursday evening following a meeting between President Alberto Fernández and Administrator Bill Nelson from the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) at the Casa Rosada. 

“It is very important we take this step as it is key that we move forward in the field of space development,” said Fernández as Argentina became the 28th signatory. “We are convinced that it must be a state policy. We have always been interested in science and technology, we believe that this is the way to go.”

The Artemis Accords — non-binding guidelines for members of the Artemis Program to return humans to the moon in 2025 — were initially signed in 2020 by eight countries, and have since expanded to include countries on all continents. In Latin America, participants include Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico. 

In a press conference earlier on Thursday, Nelson described the purpose of the Artemis Accords as “peaceful intentions, helping each other out, commonality of parts to help have common rescues in disasters. Not saying ‘This is mine, you stay out’ on the moon or any other celestial [bodies].” 

“Argentina has decided that these are a set of standards in the exploration of outer space that it wants to be associated with,” Nelson said.

He added that he believed there are “enormous opportunities for contribution” between Argentina and NASA. 

NASA has collaborated with Argentina on previous projects, including a satellite project to study how ocean water with more salt sinks and creates currents.

“Argentina certainly has the technological base and scientific know-how for this to be a cooperative adventure in the future,” Nelson said.

NASA has recently sent a test flight to the moon and in the coming years is planning to send a staffed flight that would descend to the moon’s surface in a lander, including the first woman to walk on the moon, according to Nelson.

He added that he believes the United States and China are in a new “space race” as both countries seek to explore the South Pole of the moon. 

“Satellite imagery has confirmed that there is ice on parts of the moon. If you have water in abundance then you have hydrogen and oxygen, you have rocket fuel,”  Nelson said, referring to the two elements’ use in the fuel formula. “And that is why China has announced it’s going to the South Pole. Our mission is one of peaceful purposes for all people. You decide what China’s mission is. I’m not going to say.”

He is on a trip to Argentina, Brazil, and Colombia to meet with the countries’ presidents.

In Argentina, he will visit facilities in Bariloche and Córdoba. 

In Brazil, he also met with the country’s space agency in Sao Paulo. In Colombia, he will meet with farmers to discuss how satellite imagery can help detect crop diseases, soil moisture conditions, and other important agricultural information.

The trip also seeks to further NASA’s satellite projects aimed at tackling climate change and the challenges it causes. 

“Where we can partner together, as we do with many countries around the world, we can use that information to help understand what is happening with the Earth’s climate,” Nelson said.

NASA is working on a project in India that will allow for the use of satellites to look under the canopy of the Amazon rainforest to detect where fires are burning even when they do not penetrate through the treetops, he said. 

Other projects will examine how silt coming from the Amazon River as a result of deforestation and environmental degradation will affect fisheries.

Nelson traveled to outer space on a shuttle 37 years ago. “I could see [Argentina],” he said. “The eastern coast of South America is so beautiful… [and] I could see the destruction of the Amazon with the naked eye.” 

You may also be interested in: 200 years of bilateral relations with the US: looking to the future

Newsletter

All Right Reserved.  Buenos Aires Herald