Ecuador’s foreign minister, Gustavo Manrique Miranda, is in Washington, where he signed the agreement of the Artemis Agreements on Collaboration in the Exploration of the Moon and Mars.

The Artemis Agreement is an international initiative to boost the aerospace industry and promote space research and development, the US space agency NASA reported.

The flattened shape of the Earth reduces the distance from the equator to space, reducing distance and cost. The area’s climate and low air and space traffic are additional benefits, said Minister Manrique, according to the Foreign Ministry statement, highlighting the benefits of Ecuador’s participation in the project to go to Mars and the moon. to go.

“Ecuador will not just sit at the table of the Artemis signatories, it will be heard, it will have a voice and it will actively participate in determining how we explore space,” said Valda Vikmanis Keller, director of the Department of Space Bureau of Affairs, State of the United States.

“Ecuador adds its voice to a diverse and growing group of countries committed to the idea of ​​humanity’s rapid expansion into space,” said Karen Feldstein, NASA deputy director for international relations.

NASA and the US State Department drafted the Artemis Accords in 2020 along with Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.

Other signatories since then have been Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Mexico and Spain.

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According to NASA, the Artemis Accords reinforce and apply the 1967 Convention on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies.

This important instrument will promote international research and science, as well as national space development thanks to Ecuador’s geographical features, for the benefit of future generations, the Ecuadorian Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed of the signing.

“Today, Ecuador joins the group of countries committed to securing space for the future,” said NASA Director Bill Nelson.

Among the principles of the Artemis Agreement are the peaceful exploration of space, transparency in countries’ activities to avoid confusion and conflict, and mutual aid between the signatories in emergencies.

NASA’s Artemis program, which resembles the Apollo program of the 1960s and 1970s, involves sending the first woman to the moon, scheduled for 2024.