Asia-Pacific
Vietnam becomes the 78th country to sign the Artemis Accords, the State Department says
Vietnam’s science minister signed the US-led Artemis Accords on 28 October in Ha Long, nine days after Uzbekistan became the 77th signatory, according to the US State Department.
Vietnam signed the Artemis Accords on 28 October 2026, becoming the 78th country to join the US-led framework of principles for civil space exploration, the US State Department said in a media note the same day.
According to the State Department, Vietnam’s Minister of Science and Technology, Vũ Hải Quân, signed the Accords on behalf of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Jennifer Wicks witnessed the signing at a ceremony on the margins of Vietnam International Digital Week in Ha Long.
What the Accords are
The Accords were set up in 2020 by NASA and the State Department together with seven other initial signatory nations. NASA lists the principles as peaceful purposes, transparency, interoperability, emergency assistance, registration of space objects, release of scientific data, preserving outer space heritage, space resources, deconfliction of space activities and orbital debris. The State Department and NASA lead US outreach and implementation. The number of signatories reached 77 on 19 October, when Uzbekistan signed, according to NASA, so Vietnam’s signature came nine days later.
Washington’s framing
The State Department described Vietnam as a “committed partner in the peaceful, cooperative use of space” and said the decision “extends” the U.S.-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership “into a new frontier”. It said the partnership is built on more than 30 years of cooperation spanning defence, economic, law enforcement, war legacy and technological cooperation, and that it supports stability in what Washington calls a free and open Indo-Pacific.
The State Department says the Accords are meant to guide “safe, transparent, and responsible” space exploration and use. The text published so far is the American side of the announcement; the State Department note is the only account of the ceremony read for this article, and no Vietnamese government statement had been located at the time of writing.
Part of a widening group
The accession adds an Asian partner to a group that has grown steadily around NASA’s Artemis programme. Geopolitiki recently reported on the programme’s schedule: NASA: Artemis III will test Blue Origin and SpaceX lunar landers in Earth orbit in 2027, with a Moon landing targeted for 2028.
The State Department said a full list of signatories is available on the Artemis Accords webpage.
