Uzbekistan signs Artemis Accords for peaceful space exploration

Uzbekistan signed the Artemis Accords in Samarkand on 19 October 2026, becoming the 77th country to join the framework for peaceful civil space exploration. NASA documented the accession on 20 October, extending the group of governments endorsing shared principles for exploration beyond Earth.

Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov signed on Uzbekistan’s behalf during a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, NASA reported. A Reuters photographic record separately documents the two officials holding the Accords at the signing ceremony in Samarkand on 19 October.

The cross-border commitments concern how participating countries conduct and communicate their activities. NASA’s framework summary describes public disclosure of national space policies and exploration plans, open scientific-data sharing, assistance to people in distress and coordination to avoid harmful interference with other countries’ operations.

The original Accords text calls the arrangement a political commitment. The signatories’ Method of Operation specifies that the principles are nonbinding and that signing does not initiate specific cooperative space activities. The Accords envisage separate instruments defining the scope, objectives and other provisions of cooperative projects.

The data pledge also has limits. Section 8 of the Accords envisages timely release of scientific results from cooperative activities to the public and international researchers, while protecting proprietary and export-controlled information. It excludes private-sector operations unless they are carried out on behalf of a signatory.

NASA’s accession announcement identifies no Uzbek flight assignment or funding commitment. The verified change is Uzbekistan’s endorsement of the framework; specific cooperative activities remain a separate step under the signatories’ operating document.