Vietnam becomes 78th nation to sign Artemis Accords

Vietnam’s Minister of Science and Technology Vu Hai Quan signed the Artemis Accords on Oct. 28, 2026, at a ceremony in Ha Long during Vietnam International Digital Week. The signing made Vietnam the 78th nation to join the accords.

NASA and the U.S. State Department established the Artemis Accords in 2020 with seven other founding nations as practical principles to guide responsible exploration of the Moon, Mars, and beyond. NASA says the framework answered rising government and commercial interest in lunar activity and introduced the first set of practical principles intended to improve safety and coordination among nations exploring deep space.

The signatory total reached 77 on Oct. 19, 2026, when Uzbekistan signed, and Vietnam’s signature nine days later made it the 78th nation, according to NASA.

NASA Deputy Administrator Matt Anderson welcomed Vietnam in recorded ceremony remarks, saying its accession comes at an important point in the country’s space program development and opens a new chapter in the bilateral relationship. He said NASA and the Vietnam National Space Center have advanced cooperation in satellite work, land-use studies, and radar-based Earth observation.

Vietnam inaugurated its National Space Center in Hanoi and is developing domestic satellite capabilities through the LOTUSat program for Earth observation, weather monitoring, and disaster response. Earlier in 2026, NASA partnered with Vietnam’s Vietnamese-German University to support the Soil Moisture Active Passive mission, which measures surface-soil water worldwide.

Minister Vu Hai Quan said Vietnam wants to work with member nations on peaceful, safe, equitable, transparent, and sustainable space exploration under international law for tangible benefits to people and the planet. He also said Vietnam is working toward a space economy ecosystem and stronger oversight of space-related activities.

Vietnam prioritizes self-reliance in space technology and data, with applications in resource management, environmental protection, climate change response, and disaster prevention and control. Under Politburo Resolution 57, Vietnam is focusing on 10 groups of strategic technologies to master key technologies, strengthen technological self-reliance, and accelerate applied research to support economic growth.

The U.S. Department of State congratulated Vietnam on joining, calling it a committed partner in the peaceful, cooperative use of space and saying the signing extends the U.S.-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership into a new frontier. The partnership dates back more than 30 years, spanning defense, economic, law enforcement, war legacy, and technological cooperation, and advancing peace, stability, and prosperity in a free and open Indo-Pacific.

U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Jennifer Wicks participated in the Artemis Accords signing ceremony in Ha Long on Oct. 28, 2026, during Vietnam International Digital Week. Vietnamese and State Department accounts confirm she attended and witnessed the signing.

Vietnam International Digital Week 2026 ran Oct. 28-30 in Quang Ninh with about 500 delegates, chaired by the Ministry of Science and Technology under an AI governance and transformation theme. The headline event was a ministerial roundtable covering smart connectivity, AI governance, and AI transformation. The forum uses conferences, forums, and seminars to encourage policy dialogue, shared experience, and global cooperation on science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation, with AI development, governance, and deployment at its core.

The Artemis Accords are a non-binding framework grounded in the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, covering transparency, interoperability, emergency assistance, scientific data sharing, space heritage preservation, space resources, activity deconfliction, and orbital debris. Signing commits nations to explore peaceably and transparently, render aid to those in need, share scientific data for all humanity, avoid interfering with others, and preserve historically significant sites and artifacts. NASA lists the principles as including registration of space objects alongside peaceful purposes, transparency, interoperability, emergency assistance, scientific data release, heritage preservation, space resources, activity deconfliction, and orbital debris.

The United States and seven other countries created the Accords in 2020 during President Trump’s first term. NASA and the U.S. Department of State lead American outreach and implementation of the Artemis Accords. NASA plans to test Blue Origin and SpaceX lunar landers in Earth orbit in 2027 under Artemis III, targeting a Moon landing in 2028.

NASA said more countries are expected to sign the Artemis Accords in the months and years ahead as it works toward a safe, peaceful, and prosperous future in space. Geopolitiki said the accession adds an Asian partner to a group that has grown steadily around NASA’s Artemis programme.