After much delay and two aborted attempts, NASA’s Artemis I mission was scheduled to be launched aboard the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket on September 27 this week. However, NASA has decided to forgo the opportunity due to the weather forecast owing to Tropical Storm Ian and we await the announcement of a new launch date.
The mission aims to send the capsule Orion for a 37 days journey around the Moon before splashing down on Earth. It is the first step towards fulfilling the grand objectives of the Artemis Programme, which among other things, plans to put humans back on the Moon after five decades, set up a permanent lunar base, and kick-start interplanetary travel.
The Artemis Programme, spearheaded by the United States, is governed by the Artemis Accords, a series of agreements with multiple countries. Signing the Accords is a prerequisite for participation in the programme. Beginning in October, 2020, a total of twenty-one countries and one territory have signed these agreements with the United States and joined the Artemis Programme.
On the other hand, in March 2021, China and Russia announced an International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) on the Moon to counterbalance the United States’ led Artemis Programme. The three-phased plan of space exploration consists of soft landings on the Moon, construction of the ILRS and allied infrastructure, and regular crewed missions thereafter.
While China and Russia are also open to other countries joining the effort, they are yet to finalise the text of the agreement governing the programme, unlike the Artemis Accords. However, given the recent border tensions and consequent souring of relations with China, India is unlikely to join the ILRS effort led by China. Although India and Russia have shared a history of space cooperation, the international consequences of Russia-Ukraine conflict has also muddied the waters as far as joining ILRS is concerned.
The ability to use space for commercial, scientific, and military purposes is a determinant of national power. India, being a space-faring nation with lunar ambitions, has an opportunity to join space programmes such as the Artemis and benefit from space cooperation. India can also participate in shaping international norms for space governance through such efforts, especially in contentious areas like space mining.
Should India Join the Artemis Accords?
As India-US ties have strengthened, their cooperation in the space sector has grown steadily. While India’s Chandrayan-I mission to the Moon carried two NASA payloads, NASA and ISRO are also jointly working on a synthetic aperture radar project called the NISAR. Earlier, in April this year, India and the United States reached an agreement for sharing space situational awareness data. They also plan to launch a defence space exchange between the U.S. Space Command and India’s Defense Space Agency later this year.
In this backdrop of increasing cooperation between the two countries, our Takshashila Issue Paper - India and the Artemis Accords examined the benefits and disadvantages for India if it opts to sign the Artemis Accords and join the Artemis programme in the future.
The participating countries in the Artemis Programme, which today includes the United Kingdom, France, and Canada, apart from the United States, offer an opportunity to India to boost its lunar exploration capacity through collaboration. Joining the Artemis Programme could also benefit India in terms of opportunities for co-financing lunar and other space projects, and gaining access to critical space technologies.
Since India has also opened up its space sector to private enterprises, Artemis can pave the way for cross-border commercial opportunities. It opens up the possibility of creating supply chains and technology transfers between India and other participating countries.
In terms of outer space governance, the needle has not moved much since the Outer Space Treaty (OST) led regime, which was set up in the 1960s and 70s. The Moon Agreement of 1979 does not have many takers among the leading space-faring states. On the other hand, the Artemis Accords have put in place a set of practical guidelines and practices relating to the use of space for peaceful purposes, interoperability, disclosure of scientific data, extraction and use of space resources, and managing orbital debris. Therefore, in the short-run the Accords offer a interim system for conducting lunar, asteroid and interplanetary missions.
At the same time, the Artemis Accords suffer from certain shortcomings. The Accords do not provide for mechanisms for practical dispute resolution and assessing liability for damage caused by lunar activities, other than what is already existing under the OST regime. There is also no provision for mutual inspection of lunar facilities among the Artemis member states, which can build transparency and trust.
More importantly, the Artemis Programme aims to open the way for exploitation of natural resources on the Moon and other celestial bodies. Under the OST, national appropriation of outer space is prohibited and the Moon Agreement expressly forbids mining. Therefore, mining activity in space remains of dubious legality and can potentially degrade the Moon’s environment, spur dangerous competition between states, and spark international confrontations.
Despite the pitfalls, the Artemis Accords provide an initial framework for thinking about lunar governance. Participating in the Accords will help India gain a foothold in the shaping of these new norms for space governance in the coming years.
The Quad Connection
Finally, the Quad states have made a commitment towards outer space cooperation through a joint statement by means of sharing satellite data for peaceful purposes. The joint statement also refers to consultation between the Quad members on “rules, norms, guidelines and principles for ensuring the sustainable use of outer space.”
The United States, Australia and Japan are already participating in the Artemis Programme. If India opts to sign Artemis Accords, it will open an important avenue for Quad cooperation. India's space programme and its private sector space industry can also benefit from the pre-existing capabilities the Quad states bring.
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