Why did Nigeria and Rwanda sign NASA’s Artemis Accords?

Nigeria and Rwanda are the first African countries to sign NASA’s Artemis Accords, an agreement between 23 nations to adhere to a set of rules regarding space exploration and the economic development of other worlds. Participation in the NASA-led Artemis program not a prerequisite for signing the Artemis Accords. However, American officials strongly implied that the two countries would, in due course, become partners in the effort to return astronauts to the moon and eventually to Mars.

While both Nigeria and Rwanda have space agencies, neither country is a well-known space power. Even so, why did they sign the Artemis Accords?

According to Aerospace Security, Nigeria formed the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) in 1999. NASRDA has launched several satellites, including the first to have been built by engineers from African countries, the NigeriaSat-X. However, NASRDA has fallen short of a number of lofty goals it set for itself, including training a Nigerian astronaut, developing a Nigerian launch vehicle and constructing a Nigerian launch facility.

Now, NASRDA has a more practical mandate aligned with Nigeria’s current needs, including “the implicit objective for the program has been to aid in the socioeconomic development of the Nigerian people through investment in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and earth observation technology. Nigeria intends to utilize these future technologies to help fight climate change, aid in agriculture, oppose Boko Haram, and combat the issue of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.”

The Rwanda Space Agency was created in 2020. Its stated goal is “to regulate and coordinate all space activities in the country while also creating an environment that encourages entrepreneurial and industrial development in order to enable the creation of commercialization products that are globally competitive for local consumption and export markets.”

Rwanda has already launched its own satellite, RwaSat-1, in cooperation with Japan. It is seeking similar agreements with Israel and the United Arab Emirates. Rwanda plans to launch more satellites by the end of 2023. Like Nigeria, Rwanda’s space program is geared toward facilitating the country’s socioeconomic development.

By joining the Artemis Accords, Nigeria and Rwanda have made themselves more attractive to international investment in their space sectors. The two African countries have joined the same space alliance as the United States, France, Japan and 20 or so other countries. They have shown themselves to be serious about using space to develop their countries’ economies and eventually, directly participate in exploration of the moon, Mars and beyond.

Nigeria and Rwanda can participate directly in the Artemis program with the development of CubeSats, suitcase-sized satellites that contain instruments for specific missions. The recent Artemis I mission carried several CubeSats as a rideshare, some of which failed, but all providing small organizations such as universities opportunities for hands-on experience in high-risk, high-rewards space missions. A CubeSat mission would not be beyond the ability of NASRDA or the Rwanda Space Agency, with the participation of local university students, to construct and fly, perhaps as early as Artemis II, currently scheduled for 2024 or 2025.

As Nigeria and Rwanda develop their space economies, the two countries will participate more fully in the Artemis program. African astronauts will walk on the moon on future Artemis missions. Their participation will serve as an example for other countries, especially in Africa, to follow.

In return, NASA expands the Artemis Accords to countries across the planet. Russia and China may sneer that the accords are too “America-centric.” However, the principles and norms set out in the Artemis Accords are rapidly becoming accepted by a wide variety of countries.

China will especially be irked by the addition of two African countries to the Artemis Accords. China’s space ambitions are heavily tied to its imperial vision on Earth. Africa is a target for China’s inclusion in its economic sphere of influence through its belt and road initiative. Countries that are party to the Artemis Accords and subsequently participate in the Artemis return to the moon program are less likely to fall under Chinese domination.

The Artemis Accords are far from complete. Germany and India are major space powers who have yet to sign. More developing world countries will, no doubt, sign on because they will see the accords as a way to join in the greatest international project in history that will not involve making war. Going back to the moon and on to Mars and beyond will benefit all who participate.

Mark R. Whittington is the author of space exploration studies “Why is It So Hard to Go Back to the Moon?” as well as “The Moon, Mars and Beyond,” and “Why is America Going Back to the Moon?” He blogs at Curmudgeons Corner.