United States Welcomes Norway’s Signing of the Artemis Accords

Norway became the 55th signatory of the Artemis Accords at a ceremony at the Norwegian Space Agency in Oslo, Norway today.  Minister of Trade and Industry Cecilie Myrseth signed the Artemis Accords on behalf of the Government of Norway in the presence of representatives of the U.S. Government and the Director General of the Norwegian Space Agency.

The United States and Norway have a longstanding relationship in space.  Collaboration stretches back to 1962, when NASA supported the first civilian suborbital rocket launch mission above the Arctic Circle from Andøya Space.  Norway is now pursuing advanced cooperation in space with the United States and has engaged with the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), U.S. Space Force, U.S. Space Command, the U.S. defense industry, and others in complementary efforts to increase space domain capability.  Norway’s signing of the Artemis Accords further demonstrates its willingness to join a shared vision of peaceful exploration and use of outer space.

The United States and seven other countries established the Artemis Accords in 2020 to serve as a set of practical principles to guide responsible space exploration.  Norway joins the United States and 53 other nations – Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, the Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Panama, Peru, Poland, the Republic of Korea, Romania, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay – in affirming the Accords’ principles for sustainable civil space activity.  The Department of State and NASA lead the United States’ outreach and implementation of the Accords.