Posted: Sat, May 18, 2024, 9:39 AM ET (1339 GMT)
Lithuania is the 40th nation to sign the Artemis Accords. The country's minister of economy and innovation signed the Accords Wednesday in a ceremony in Vilnius. Lithuania is the seventh nation to sign so far this year and the 40th since the Accords were unveiled four years ago. At a recent event, officials with NASA and the State Department said they are seeing growing interest among countries to sign the Accords, which outline best practices for responsible space exploration and allow countries to discuss those issues in greater detail. Separately, the governments of Portugal and the U.S. said Wednesday they are starting discussions about Portugal signing the Accords.

Related Links:

•  SpaceNews article
•  NASA press release