Albania officially became the 73rd country, which signed the international Artemis Agreements (Artemis Accords). A solemn ceremony took place 21 September 2026 year at NASA headquarters in Washington.
Document, which is based on the Outer Space Treaty 1967 year, defines the principles of peace, transparent and sustainable development of the Moon, Mars and other heavenly bodies.
Representatives of the parties: The agreement was signed by the Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs of Albania, Ferit Hoxha, in the presence of the Ambassador of Albania to the United States, Ervin Bushati, and the Deputy Administrator of NASA, Matt Anderson..
Space background of the country: Despite the small scale of its own space program, Albania already has experience in orbit. In January 2023 year using the Falcon rocket 9 SpaceX launched two Albanian satellites for remote sensing of the Earth – Albania-1 and Albania-2. The country also actively participates in NASA Space Apps Challenge hackathons.
Political context: The accession of Albania was the third expansion of the coalition in a month – in August 2026 Turkey joined the agreements, and in the middle of September – Djibouti.
The signing of the agreements gives Albania greater access to NASA's open scientific data and integrates the country into the global diplomatic framework for future civil and commercial activities in deep space..
Source: https://spacenews.com