NASA welcomes Finland as Artemis Accords signatory
Image courtesy NASA
The signing ceremony took place on the margins of the Aalto University's Winter Satellite Workshop 2025 in Espoo, Finland.
"Today, Finland is joining a community of nations that want to share scientific data freely, operate safely, and preserve the space environment for the Artemis Generation," said NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free, who provided pre-recorded virtual remarks for the ceremony. "By signing the Artemis Accords, Finland builds on its rich history in space, excelling in science, navigation, and Earth observation. Forging strong partnerships between our nations and among the international community is critical for advancing our shared space exploration goals."
Wille Rydman, Finland's minister of economic affairs, signed the Artemis Accords in front of an audience of Finnish space officials and workshop attendees.
"Finland has been part of the space exploration community for decades with innovations and technology produced by Finnish companies and research institutions," said Rydman. "The signing of the Artemis Accords is in line with Finland's newly updated space strategy that highlights the importance of international cooperation and of strengthening partnerships with the Unites States and other allies. We aim for this cooperation to open great opportunities for the Finnish space sector in the new era of space exploration and in the Artemis programme."
NASA and Finland have a long history of collaboration, and most recently, Finland is contributing to the upcoming Intuitive Machines-2 delivery to the Moon under NASA's Artemis campaign and CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative. Intuitive Machines will deliver a lunar LTE/4G communications system developed by Finnish company, Nokia. Its US subsidiary, Nokia of America, was selected as part of NASA's Tipping Point opportunity through the agency's Space Technology Mission Directorate, to advance a lunar surface communications system that could help humans and robots explore more of the Moon than ever before.
The Finnish Meteorological Institute also provided the pressure and humidity measurement instruments for the Environmental Monitoring Station instrument suite aboard the Curiosity Rover, operating on Mars now.
In 2020, the United States, led by NASA and the US Department of State and seven other initial signatory nations, established the Artemis Accords: a set of principles promoting the beneficial use of space for humanity.
The Artemis Accords are grounded in the Outer Space Treaty and other agreements including the Registration Convention, the Rescue and Return Agreement, as well as best practices for responsible behavior that NASA and its partners have supported, including the public release of scientific data.
For more information on the Artemis Accords: www.nasa.gov/artemis-accords
