Artemis Accords reach 76 signatories, NASA says

What was announced, and by whom

On September 28, 2026, NASA published a release titled “NASA Celebrates as Artemis Accords Surpasses 75 Signatories.” According to the agency, Albania, Croatia, Côte d’Ivoire and San Marino joined the group, bringing it to 76 countries. The immediate news is therefore an increase in the number of participants NASA attributes to the Artemis Accords. NASA is one of the institutions promoting the framework, and its release is a primary source for what the agency announced; it is not, on its own, an independent assessment of how the principles are being applied.

The figure of 76 is a count of signatory countries reported by NASA, not a measure of completed missions, space budgets or technological capabilities. The headline says the accords passed 75; the announcement gives 76 as the total. The available information does not specify the individual accession dates or signing events, nor does it say what specific activities each new participant will undertake.

What the Artemis Accords are

The Artemis Accords are a framework of principles supported by NASA and the countries that sign them. The agency’s information page says the accords reinforce signatories’ commitments to the Outer Space Treaty, the Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space, and the Agreement on the Rescue of Astronauts and the Return of Astronauts and Objects. These international instruments provide the legal and diplomatic context to which NASA points in describing the accords.

This description helps explain the general significance of the announcement: joining means becoming part of a group that endorses shared principles. On the evidence available, it does not mean that a country has joined a particular mission, sent astronauts, or set a date for a lunar activity. The material provided also does not include the full texts of the commitments or an analysis of how they are put into practice. NASA’s institutional explanation is available on its Artemis Accords page.

How the accords relate to the Artemis lunar program

The accords take their name from Artemis, NASA’s program aimed at returning people to the Moon. The practical connection described by the agency is that it has invited signatory countries to take part in that return through scientific payloads and technology demonstrations. An invitation creates a possible avenue for cooperation; it does not confirm that every signatory will contribute instruments, technology or personnel, or that the four newest participants have agreed to make a specific contribution.

It is useful, then, to distinguish among three things: endorsing principles, being invited to cooperate, and actually taking part in a mission. The announcement about 76 signatories concerns the first. NASA describes the possibility of the second. The supplied sources identify no new missions or concrete contributions associated with Albania, Croatia, Côte d’Ivoire or San Marino joining.

How to put the growth in context

The announced total is higher than figures cited in earlier official pages included among the sources. A U.S. State Department page said there were 52 signatories as of December 2024. That figure has a different reference date and comes from a separate official communication; it is background, not a complete statistical series or an independent check of the 2026 count. The current figure of 76 comes from NASA’s release published on September 28, 2026.

NASA also said, in a page marking the accords’ fifth anniversary, that it had committed to hosting a workshop for signatories in 2026 focused on transparency and data sharing. This provides context about an announced initiative, but it does not establish that the workshop has already taken place or what it achieved. The information appears on NASA’s fifth-anniversary page.

What is known—and what remains open

The verifiable information in the available sources is limited: NASA announced four new additions and a total of 76 countries; its page says the accords reaffirm commitments connected with three international treaties or instruments; and the agency identifies potential routes for cooperation in the lunar program. The material provided gives no details on each country’s accession process, the legal scope of the commitments, monitoring mechanisms, national plans or activities already agreed by the new signatories.

The total shows that the framework brings together a large group of countries, but the number of accessions alone does not measure compliance or the accords’ effect on space exploration. The cautious conclusion is that the announcement expands diplomatic participation in principles promoted by NASA. To establish whether that expansion leads to practical cooperation, further information about projects or missions will be needed; the release does not provide it.

Institutional sources: NASA’s September 28, 2026, release; NASA’s description of the accords; and the State Department’s December 2024 reference.