WASHINGTON — Paraguay signed the Artemis Accords May 7, the sixth country to do so in the last two and a half weeks.
Osvaldo Almirón Riveros, head of the Paraguayan Space Agency, signed the Accords in a ceremony in Asunción, the capital of Paraguay, attended by a U.S. Embassy official and a representative of the Paraguayan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Paraguay is the 67th country to sign the Artemis Accords, which outline best practices for safe and sustainable space exploration. It is the sixth country to do so since mid-April, after Latvia, Jordan, Morocco, Malta and Ireland.
“The signing of the Artemis Accords represents a historic milestone for Paraguay and reflects our commitment to international cooperation, the peaceful use of outer space, scientific development, and the advancement of national space capabilities,” Almirón Riveros said in a statement released by NASA.
“This step strengthens Paraguay’s position within the global space community and opens new opportunities for research, innovation and sustainable development,” he added.
The surge in Artemis Accords signatories comes both in the wake of the successful Artemis 2 mission, the first crewed flight around the moon in more than a half-century, as well as revisions to NASA’s Artemis architecture that include a lunar base and a higher cadence of missions that provide new opportunities for international partners.
NASA has indicated it wants to use the Accords to help coordinate that international cooperation. “We are creating opportunities for all Artemis Accords signatories, including Paraguay, to join us on the lunar surface and advance our shared objectives in this next era of exploration,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in a statement.
Mike Gold, president of Redwire Space and a former NASA official who spearheaded development of the Accords, noted that Paraguay’s modest space program includes collaboration with Japan on satellite development and Earth observation worth $24 million. “This demonstrates how Artemis Accords signatories are working together to establish a global space ecosystem that is built upon the values of the Accords,” he said.
He also noted the geopolitical importance of Paraguay’s signing. “It’s incredibly important for the Artemis Accords to continue to gain momentum in the Global South and Africa to counter growing Chinese influence,” he said. “The Artemis Accords are playing a critical role for America not just in space, but geopolitically here on Earth.”