At the SpaceBR Show 2024 Forum, a panel presented the news about Brazilian participation in the Artemis Agreements for the exploration of the Moon, Mars and beyond
News and trends in space exploration were the focus of the Artemis Project: Brazil on the Moon panel, held on May 21 in the capital of São Paulo as part of the 4th SpaceBR Show Forum, which took place in parallel to the SpaceBR Show, MundoGEO Connect, DroneShow and Expo fair eVTOL 2024.
In 2021, Brazil signed the agreement to join the Artemis program, led by the United States, which contains a set of principles that promote the beneficial use of space for humanity. The agreements are based on the Outer Space Treaty and other agreements, as well as best practices and standards of responsible behavior, including the public dissemination of scientific data. Today there are already 43 countries that are signatories to the Artemis Accords.
The panel's mediator, Mônica Elizabeth Rocha de Oliveira, Senior Analyst at the São José dos Campos Regional Unit of the Brazilian Space Agency (AEB), explained that the Artemis program is a North American initiative, developed with international partners, to establish a presence sustainable human existence on the Moon and, eventually, from there, reach Mars for the purpose of staying.
“Adhesion does not imply taking on activities linked to the program, but a commitment to respecting the rules and principles of the Agreements, which establish standards of responsibility, transparency and sustainability in space”, stated Mônica.
The President of AEB, Marco Antonio Chamon, who was traveling on the date of the forum and participated remotely through a video, brought additional information about Brazil's participation and the benefits of being part of the Artemis Project.
“The scientific data that is developed from the projects, within the Artemis Agreements, must be available to all countries”, celebrated Marco Antonio.
He also commented that some of the principles of the Artemis Accords are the same as those used for the exploration of Antarctica, and also that there need to be new conflict resolution mechanisms on the Moon, since the laws that exist on Earth are no longer valid on the Moon. space. Finally, he recalled concerns about space debris, as there are currently around 200 tons of debris on the Moon and this number is expected to increase with the expansion of trips to the natural satellite.
“We place the Artemis Agreements as one of the structuring projects within the National Space Activities Program, the PNAE, which runs from 2022 to 2031. The idea is to develop scientific, technological issues, etc., relating to the space sector, which can contribute to lunar exploration and consolidate, within Brazilian society, in the various sectors, the understanding of the potential advantages and benefits”, he concluded.
Check out the full presentation by the AEB president:
Next it was the turn of Alessandra Fávero, Researcher at Embrapa Pecuária Sudeste and Coordinator of the Space Farming Brasil Network, who discussed Brazilian collaboration with the Artemis Agreements in the area of space agriculture.
“Brazil, being the main tropical country in agricultural research – which is already recognized internationally – and a great agricultural power for exporting and consuming products that are developed here, could not be left out, because it would be a great opportunity to contribute for situations where plants are grown in space”, commented Alessandra.
She recalled that, just like the Apollo missions, many spin-offs happen during space exploration, some that cannot even be predicted, which can generate many agricultural solutions that can also be applied to terrestrial soil.
Victoria de Souza Rodrigues, Researcher at the ITA Space Center and Deputy Technical Coordinator of the SelenITA Mission, explained how the project is one of the candidates for participation in the Artemis Agreements. The SelenITA mission is an interdisciplinary investigation into the dynamics of the Moon, its risks and its interior.
“We have to make a match between science and engineering and understand how, in order to achieve some mission requirements, we are going to create a cubesat platform to meet these requirements”, said Victoria.
She commented that the publications made were to understand how much Brazil, with ITA's capacity, could deliver a space mission and scientific exploration on the Moon. She also recalled that the SelenITA mission does not only cover the cubesat under development, but also the participation in the ground segment, which is under the responsibility of NASA. “The Artemis Program is just the beginning of this mission, which goes beyond”, concluded Victoria.
The master of ceremonies was Ivan Carlos Soares de Oliveira, CEO of BTI Tecnologia & Intelligence, who led the activities on the two days of the 4th SpaceBR Show Forum.
The DroneShow Robotics, MundoGEO Connect, SpaceBR Show and Expo eVTOL fairs exceeded expectations and brought together 8,100 professionals from 33 countries, an increase of 42% compared to participation in the previous edition. Organized by MundoGEO, a company recently acquired by the Italian Exhibition Group (IEG), the events took place from May 21st to 23rd at Expo Center Norte – Pavilhão Amarelo, in São Paulo (SP), and were consolidated as the largest meeting in the Americas that brings together in the same space the sectors of geographic intelligence, drones, space and eVTOL aircraft.
The DroneShow Robotics, MundoGEO Connect, SpaceBR Show and Expo eVTOL exceeded expectations and brought together 8,100 professionals from 33 countries, an increase of 42% compared to participation in the previous edition. Organized by MundoGEO, a company recently acquired by the Italian Exhibition Group (IEG), the events took place from May 21st to 23rd at Expo Center Norte – Pavilhão Amarelo, in São Paulo (SP), and were consolidated as the largest meeting in the Americas that brings together in the same space the sectors of geographic intelligence, drones, space and eVTOL aircraft.
2025 Edition
The next edition of DroneShow, MundoGEO Connect, SpaceBR Show and Expo eVTOL is already scheduled for June 3 to 5, 2025 at Expo Center Norte – Pavilhão Azul, in São Paulo (SP), Brazil.
Follow the evolution of the event, fair plan and schedule of activities on the websites:
