Artemis Iceland WorkgrouP (AIWG)

Artemis Accords & the Artemis Iceland WorkGroup

Iceland became the 30th nation to sign the NASA lead Artemis Accords on October 10 2023. The Ministry of Culture, Innovation, and Higher Education is responsible for the government of Iceland as it relates to space affairs. The Artemis Accords reinforce and implement obligations from the 1967 Outer Space Treaty. They also strengthen the commitment by the United States and signatory nations to the Registration Convention, the Rescue and Return Agreement, as well as best practices and norms of responsible behavior NASA and its partners have supported, including the public release of scientific data.

During the dawn of the space age, Iceland was an important location for the testing of technology, research, and astronaut training. In 1965 and 1967 all of the Apollo astronauts traveled to Askja volcano to conduct geological field research aided by geologist Sigurður Þórarinsson from the University of Iceland. These field expeditions in Iceland, informed by Icelandic expertise, helped the astronauts better understand and prepare for what they expected to find on the lunar surface. Since the Apollo era, space agencies and planetary scientists have continued to visit Iceland due to our diverse set of “terrestrial analogs”, which are areas on Earth that have similarities to other celestial bodies. Now, with the launch of the Artemis program, the Artemis astronauts have returned and with Iceland’s signing of the Accords, the Artemis Iceland Workgroup (AIWG) has been established to be the POC for Artemis related activities, research, testing, training, and technology development. We will link domestic expertise for cooperation once again for humankind's next big leap, charting a new era in human space exploration, research, and innovation to the Moon, Mars and beyond.