Why in News?
Recently, India became the 27th country to sign the Artemis Accords.

What are Artemis Accords?  
Artemis Accords are established by the U.S. State Department and NASA with seven other founding members: Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom in 2020 

Purpose:  
·         For setting common principles to govern civil exploration and use of outer space, the moon, Mars, comets, and asteroids, for peaceful purposes.

Background:
·         It builds upon the foundation of the Outer Space Treaty of 1967.
·         The Outer Space Treaty, a multilateral pact under the United Nations, serves as the foundation for international space law.
·         The treaty emphasizes space as a shared resource for humanity, prohibits national appropriation, and encourages the peaceful use of space.

Signatories:  
·         These are a non-binding set of principles.
·         Signatories include Ukraine, South Korea, New Zealand, Brazil, Poland, Mexico, Israel, Romania, Bahrain, Singapore, Colombia, France, Saudi Arabia, Rwanda, Nigeria, the Czech Republic, Spain, and Ecuador.
·         India became the 27th country to sign the nonbinding Artemis Accords.

Commitments under the Accords:  
·         The signatories will implement memorandum of understanding (MOUs) between governments or agencies to conduct space activities for peaceful purposes in accordance with international law.
·         Common exploration infrastructure to enhance scientific discovery and commercial utilization.
·         Relevant space objects are registered, and scientific data is openly shared in a timely manner. Private sectors are exempt unless acting on behalf of a signatory.
·         Signatories are expected to preserve historic landing sites, artifacts, and evidence of activity on celestial bodies.
·         Utilization of space resources should support safe and sustainable activities and not interfere with other signatories' activities. Information on location and nature must be shared to prevent interference.
·         Signatories plan for the safe disposal of spacecraft and limit the generation of harmful debris.

Artemis-III: 
·         Artemis-III will mark a significant milestone in human space exploration as astronauts return to the moon. This mission will allow astronauts to land on the lunar surface and study the moon more extensively.
·         Establishment of a Lunar Gateway station is planned for 2029. This station will serve as a docking point for astronauts and facilitate scientific research and experiments.

Benefits:
·         India's participation in the Artemis Accords facilitates access to advanced training, technological advancements, and scientific opportunities.
·         The Accords could fast-track India’s human spaceflight capabilities and ambitions, and do so cost-effectively, via collaborations with not just the US but other members of the Accords as well.
·         The Accords could finally help catalyse a strong NASA-ISRO collaboration with India’s Chandrayaan 2 lunar orbiter providing advanced orbital data to help plan upcoming robotic and crewed Artemis missions. 
·         It’s been an untapped opportunity, especially as US scientists have formally urged NASA to replace the ageing, 2009-launched Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), and therein have recognised the abilities of the Chandrayaan 2 orbiter.
·         India can leverage the Artemis programme to advance its own lunar exploration goals, such as the Chandrayaan-III mission.
·         Collaborating with NASA would enhance India's capabilities for the Gaganyaan human mission and future ambitious space missions.
·         Also, India's cost-effective missions and innovative approach will benefit the Artemis program, promoting mutual advancements in space exploration.
·         Another development to look for could be the Indo-Japanese LUPEX Moon rover mission, which is targeted for launch in the 2026–2028 timeframe to study the nature, abundance, and accessibility of water ice on the Moon’s south pole. The mission is similar yet complementary to NASA’s VIPER rover, and will now most certainly feed into the critical data on which future crewed Artemis missions will bank on—seeing that both Japan and India are signatories of the Accords now.

Challenges:  
·         Aligning with the U.S. against other major space powers, such as China and Russia, who have their own plans for lunar exploration, may pose challenge to India.
·         Uncertainty over the legal status and implications of the Artemis Accords, especially regarding the provision that allows for unregulated mining on the moon and other celestial bodies.
·         The need to balance its commitments under the Artemis Accords with its obligations under other existing or emerging multilateral frameworks or treaties on outer space.
But all of the above said collaborative space potential will not brew if India doesn’t scale up its space budget dramatically. 
ISRO’s aspiring upcoming space science missions have been facing nothing but delays due to budget shortages and overshadowing priorities. 
While India’s new space policy does explicitly encourage ISRO to undertake “missions on in-situ resource utilisation, celestial prospecting and other aspects of extra-terrestrial habitability”, failure to increase such science and technology outputs for real wouldn’t allow India to sufficiently leverage the Accords.

Mains Question:  
Q: India signs the US-led Artemis Accords. What does it mean, how the country can benefit from these Accords?