US, South Korea To Expand Collaboration On Artemis Program In Future - Harris

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th April, 2023) The United States and South Korea intend to expand cooperation on the Artemis program in the future, US Vice President Kamala Harris said on Tuesday.

In May 2021, South Korea signed the Artemis Accords, which is a non-binding multilateral agreement between the United States and other nations aimed at establishing cooperation on a US-led mission to send humans back to the Moon by 2025 and eventually to interplanetary exploration endeavors.

"In the future, we look forward to expanding our collaboration on the Artemis program, which will return astronauts to the Moon for the first time in 50 years and lay the ground work for our mission to Mars," Harris said during a press conference alongside South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Harris said both sides signed an agreement earlier in the day to strengthen cooperation in space.

Earlier in April, NASA officially introduced the Artemis II crew consisting of NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Hammock Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen.

The Artemis II mission will only conduct a flyby around the Moon in late 2024 while the Artemis III mission will land astronauts on the Moon soon after.