The past year saw significant progress in space exploration, as the number of countries committed to the Artemis Accords surpassed 50. The United States and seven other countries established the accords, committing to cooperate in several ways, including providing emergency assistance to space explorers, registering space objects, and sharing scientific data.
A notable milestone was the signing of 19 new countries to the accords in the past 12 months, with four nations (Austria, Liechtenstein, Panama, and Thailand) joining as recently as December 2024. The US and India also announced a joint mission to the International Space Station in 2025.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson hailed the increasing international participation as a major advance. “We deepened the commercial and international partnerships that will help NASA lead humanity back to the Moon and then to Mars.”
Other space-related milestones included the launch of the Europa Clipper spacecraft, which aims to investigate whether Jupiter’s icy moon Europa could support life, and the successful catching of a rocket by SpaceX using giant mechanical arms.
The year also saw an awe-inspiring total solar eclipse, viewed by millions in the US, Canada, and Mexico, as well as a historic lunar landing by NASA’s Odysseus lander, which touched down on the moon in February 2024. The mission marked the first U.S. lunar landing since the Apollo missions in December 1972, with NASA’s Artemis program continuing to work with the private sector and partner nations to return astronauts to the moon and explore Mars.
Source: https://thephoenixnewspaper.com/how-nations-are-exploring-space-together