THE NEW SPACE RACE: Slovenia signs Artemis Accords. “Slovenia signed the Artemis Accords outlining best practices for sustainable space exploration April 19, the third European country to do so in five days. . . . The Artemis Accords, unveiled in 2020, describe practices that signatory nations should follow in space exploration, building upon the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 and related international agreements. They include provisions on transparency and interoperability as well as preservation of space heritage, utilization of space resources and deconfliction of space activities.”

The Accords also recognize the right to engage in commercial extraction of space resources, via mining, etc. I’m delighted that this Trump-era diplomatic initiative continues to flourish.