South Korea and U.S. Move Toward Expanding Participation in Manned Lunar Exploration Program 'Artemis'

Early Signing of the 'Artemis Research Agreement'
Yoon Young-bin, Space Agency Director, Attends International Space Conference

Space authorities of South Korea and the United States have decided to actively promote the expansion of South Korea's participation in the Artemis Program.

The Korea Aerospace Agency (KASA) announced on the 16th that during the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) held in Milan, Italy, they reached an agreement with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to sign an early "Artemis Research Agreement." This discussion took place in conjunction with the IAC and the "Artemis Accords Signatory States Meeting" held in Milan, Italy.

The Artemis Research Agreement focuses on conducting joint feasibility studies with NASA to expand KASA's participation in the Artemis Program.

This agreement is a follow-up measure to the "Joint Statement on Space and Aeronautics Activities Cooperation between KASA and NASA" signed on September 19. KASA explained that it is significant as it concretizes cooperation between South Korea and the United States and lays an important foundation for opening new horizons in South Korea's deep space exploration.

The U.S.-led "Artemis" is an agreement that defines international norms for the sustainable development of lunar exploration and deep space exploration. It aims for manned lunar exploration. A total of 43 countries worldwide have joined. South Korea became the 10th member in 2021. The international meetings of the signatory countries have been held during the IAC since 2022.

Recently, with SpaceX's great success in the fifth launch of Starship, the likelihood of success for the Artemis Program has increased, and the importance of participating in this program is growing. A KASA official explained, "With the successful test launch of Starship as an opportunity, it is necessary to actively promote participation in the Artemis Program."

Meanwhile, Yoon Young-bin, the head of KASA, actively participated in this event, which was the first held since the establishment of South Korea's independent space agency. At the "Artemis Accords Signatory States Meeting" held on the 14th, Director Yoon stated, "South Korea will share data obtained from space exploration with the world so that all countries can benefit," and emphasized, "Mitigating lunar orbit debris is important for sustainable space activities, and international cooperation and responsible policies are absolutely necessary."

At the "Global Space Leaders Summit" held on the 15th, he emphasized that "space technology is an essential tool for responding to climate change and disaster management," and explained, "South Korea contributes to protecting the Earth's environment through satellite-based climate monitoring technology and shares this technology with the world."

Taking advantage of this International Astronautical Congress, KASA held high-level bilateral talks with the European Space Agency (ESA), Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), French National Centre for Space Studies (CNES), Italian Space Agency (ASI), and discussed intergovernmental space cooperation measures.