WASHINGTON — Thailand signed the Artemis Accords Dec. 16, becoming the first nation to join both that document outlining principles for responsible space exploration and a similar Chinese-led agreement.
Thailand’s Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA), the country’s space agency, signed the Artemis Accords in a ceremony in Bangkok attended by the U.S. ambassador as well as other officials from the Thai government. Thailand is the 51st country to sign the Accords and the 18th to do so this year, just days after Panama and Austria signed.
“Thailand’s commitment to the Artemis Accords will enhance the country’s engagement with NASA and the international community,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement. Nelson also provided recorded remarks at the signing ceremony.
The signing comes just eight months after Thailand signed a memorandum of cooperation with China regarding participation in the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS). The countries said at the time they would form teams to collaborate on various aspects of the effort, including science and engineering activities.
Thailand is the first country to both join the Artemis Accords and participate in the ILRS, which includes a set of principles that, while not publicly available, are said to be similar in concept to the Artemis Accords. U.S. government officials have long said that there is nothing preventing a country from both signing the Accords and participating in ILRS.
“Comparing the Artemis Accords and ILRS is a little bit apples and oranges,” said Brian Wessel, an attorney in the international space law and practice group at NASA, during the 19th Annual Eilene M. Galloway Symposium on Critical Issues in Space Law Dec. 13. “The Artemis Accords are a set of principles that the signatories would apply to all of their civil space activities, whereas ILRS is a concrete program of international cooperation.”
The principles associated with ILRS are “broadly consistent” with the Artemis Accords, he said, with the notable exception of transparency, which is included as one of the principles in the Accords but is missing in the ILRS principles.
“From my perspective, China speaking about principles for responsible behavior in space is a good thing,” said Karen Feldstein, NASA associate administrator for international and interagency relations, in a talk at the Beyond Earth Symposium in November. “An apparent emulation of the Accords, even if it is only rhetoric, is a powerful public acknowledgement of NASA’s assertion of how we go is just as important as what we do, and that the global community now insists that exploration be conducted safely and sustainably.”
Thailand had been rumored for months to be considering joining the Artemis Accords, including a report in October that the Thai government’s cabinet had agreed to sign. Asked about it at the Galloway Symposium, Wessel said Thailand potentially signing the Accords was “a positive sign that the two efforts are not incompatible.”
“From the Artemis Accords perspective, we are working as a signatory group to implement these principles, so it is really helpful to have voices at that table that also have a foot in the efforts of other blocs,” he added. “That will be a positive development.”
