Greece joined the American space cooperation program Artemis (video)

The Artemis space program, which Greece has now joined, aims to establish a permanent human presence on the Moon.

The accession agreement was signed by the head of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Giorgos Gerapetritis, at a ceremony in Washington, attended by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the head of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Bill Nelson and the President of the Hellenic Space Center Ioannis Daglis.

How reports Euronews, the signing of the agreement took place as part of the fifth round of strategic dialogue between Greece and the United States taking place in the American capital. In his speech at the ceremony, Gerapetritis emphasized that this dialogue “enables the strengthening of policies that are based on shared values”:

“It is very important that we signed these Artemis agreements today, which will allow us to come together to coexist not only on Earth, but also in space. This cooperation is more important today than ever, and I say this given problems such as climate change, political challenges and a pandemic that threaten the lives of millions of people. The United States and Greece are doing everything they can to promote regional and global stability.”

Greece became the 35th country to join the Artemis program. In accordance with its principles, the United States and Greece “reaffirmed their commitment to a shared vision of peaceful, sustainable and transparent cooperation in outer space.”

The Artemis program was established in 2017 under the Donald Trump administration, but many of its components, such as the Orion spacecraft, were developed during the previous Constellation program (2005-2010) and after its cancellation.

The first launch of Orion and the Space Launch System, which was planned for 2016, took place on November 16, 2022 as part of the Artemis 1 mission. The launch of Artemis 2 with a crew is scheduled for 2025, and the landing of Artemis 3 with a crew on the Moon is scheduled for 2026. Artemis 4 is scheduled to dock with the Lunar Gateway in 2028, followed by annual lunar landings.

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