The Artemis Accords, an international partnership framework for civilian space exploration, was presented at the Belgrade Astronomical Observatory.
An online presentation organized by the US Embassy was held in the library of the Astronomical Observatory on January 15, 2026, in the presence of Academician Bela Balint, Minister of Science, Technological Development and Innovation of the Republic of Serbia, his Advisor for Interdepartmental Cooperation Mr. Zoran Tomić, representatives of the US Embassy, as well as representatives of ministries, faculties, institutes, science and technology parks and other institutions in the field of science and diplomacy.
The participants were welcomed by the Director of the Astronomical Observatory, Prof. Dr. Luka Č. Popović, and at the very beginning Mr. Jonathan Adams from the Office of Space Affairs of the State Department gave a presentation on the "Artemis" program, which includes agreements between NASA and other countries around the world regarding cooperation in civilian exploration and use of the Moon, Mars, comets and asteroids for peaceful purposes. This agreement has been signed by 60 countries so far, and after the presentation of the program, Serbia was invited to be among the signatories. After this presentation, the participants of the meeting asked Mr. Adams and his colleagues Mr. Brian Wessel and Ms. Katie King questions regarding the legal and scientific aspects of the "Artemis" program. Among other things, it was mentioned that in February of this year, as part of the "Artemis II" mission, a human crew is expected to be sent into orbit around the Moon, for the first time in more than 53 years.
After the discussion, the participants visited the Large Refractor Pavilion.
