NEW DELHI: On June 23, at the White House alongside President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about India joining a space pact called the Artemis Accords during his visit to the US.
“By deciding to join the Artemis Accords, we have taken a significant leap forward in our space cooperation. In fact, when it comes to the partnership between India and America, even the sky is not the limit,” he said.
To understand the leap Modi was talking about, it’s important to figure out why the Artemis Accords are such a big deal. For starters, they are a series of agreements aimed at establishing guidelines for the exploration and utilisation of celestial bodies such as the Moon, Mars, other planets and asteroids. One of their primary objectives is to put humans on the Moon by 2025. India is the 27th country to sign the nonbinding accords.
What are the Artemis Accords?
Artemis, named after the Greek Moon goddess, represents a comprehensive agreement drawn up by the US to bring together nations that share a common vision for civil space exploration. It serves as a framework for cooperation and collaboration in space exploration, building upon the foundation of the Outer Space Treaty of 1967. The Artemis Accords were jointly launched by the United States Department of State and NASA on October 13, 2020. Signatories to the agreement include Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The principles of the Artemis Accords include peaceful exploration, full transparency in space activity, including public release of scientific data, interoperability of systems to enhance safety and sustainability, emergency assistance to personnel in distress, preserving outer space heritage, extracting and utilising space resources in compliance with the Outer Space Treaty, and the safe disposal of orbital debris.
Think of them as the space variant of the UN-led Conference of the Parties (COP) framework to save Earth from destruction due to human greed. Artemis is an attempt to avert that dire situation in outer space and all celestial bodies.
Origins of the Accords
The inception of the Artemis programme can be traced back to the discontinuation of the Constellation programme, which aimed to transport astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) after the space shuttles were retired. When Constellation came to an end, Artemis emerged as its successor.
Artemis represents the most ambitious space exploration endeavour undertaken by the US since the final manned spaceflight of NASA’s space shuttle in 2011. In the interim, NASA astronauts relied on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft and the privately-developed SpaceX Dragon spacecraft for space access.
The Outer Space Treaty
The Outer Space Treaty, based on which the Artemis Accords are built, is a multilateral pact under the United Nations. It serves as the foundation for the international space law and became effective on October 10, 1967. Currently, 113 countries are parties to the treaty, including all major space-faring nations.
Outer space, the treaty underlined, is meant for all of mankind and cannot be subject to any national appropriation. It barred countries from not only placing nuclear warheads or other weapons of mass destruction in orbit or on celestial bodies, it asked them to avoid contaminating space in any way. The treaty also said it would hold space-faring nations liable for any damage caused by their space objects. Astronauts, it went on to say, shall be regarded as the envoys of mankind.
Difference between OST & Artemis
The differences between Artemis and the Outer Space Treaty lie in their nature and governing bodies. The Outer Space Treaty is a multilateral agreement overseen by the United Nations, while the Artemis is a US initiative. Artemis has a specific objective of reintroducing humans to the Moon and establishing a long-term sustainable presence. It intends to achieve this goal through a strategic combination of crewed missions, robotic systems, and collaborations with international partners.
“Artemis will be the broadest and most diverse international human space exploration program in history, and the Artemis Accords are the vehicle that will establish this singular global coalition,” said NASA when the accords were launched in 2020.
Camping on the Moon
One of the primary goals of the Artemis Accords is to resume human missions to the Moon and establish a regular sequence of crewed missions to it - about once a year. NASA plans to set up an Artemis Base Camp on the Moon — a habitat designed to support astronauts in their lunar activities.
The Artemis Base Camp would have various components, including a modern lunar cabin, a versatile rover, and a mobile home tailored to meet the astronauts’ requirements. Initially, the missions will involve shorter stays on the lunar surface. However, as the base camp evolves, the ultimate objective is to enable crew members to reside on the Moon for extended durations of up to two months at a time.
What’s in it for the country?
NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) have committed to developing a strategic framework for human spaceflight cooperation by the end of this year. It will facilitate access of Indian astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). NASA has already announced it will provide advanced training to Indian astronauts at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, to prepare them for the ISS in 2024. A set of Indian astronauts shortlisted for the country’s first space mission, Gaganyaan, have already had a training stint in Russia.
The collaboration between ISRO and NASA holds immense potential for technological advancements in manned missions. By joining the Artemis Accords, ISRO gains access to valuable technologies and opportunities for scientific and technological advancements. Collaboration with NASA would enable knowledge-sharing, technology transfer and enhance India’s space exploration efforts.
The joint mission to the ISS in 2024 coupled with the Gaganyaan human module flights would set the stage for India to raise its space aspirations. ISRO’s preparations for the Gaganyaan mission would benefit from NASA’s involvement, allowing for more ambitious missions and expanded capabilities. This partnership fosters collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and technology transfer, propelling both agencies towards new frontiers in space exploration.
Mike Gold, Chief Growth Officer at Redwire Space and a former NASA official who played a key role in developing the Accords in 2020, sees India becoming its signatory as a transformative moment. In an interview with Spacenews.com, he expressed confidence in India’s ongoing lunar and Martian exploration initiatives, highlighting the forthcoming launch of Chandrayaan-3 on July 13, 2023. Chandrayaan-3 will have a lander on the Moon and a rover but no orbiter.
India’s inclusion in the Artemis Accords would propel it to the forefront of human space exploration, allowing it to benefit from technological advancements and capabilities that emerge during this extraordinary voyage of exploration, Gold said. He also emphasised the reciprocal advantage, stating Artemis would significantly benefit from India’s capacity for innovation and its ability to execute missions cost-effectively.
Remember, the total cost of India’s successful Mars mission — in its very first attempt — was Rs 450 crore (USD 73 million), as compared to the USD 100 million spent to make the Hollywood movie ‘Gravity’. It gave the country bragging rights for making its mission the most cost-effective in the world.