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Ireland will sign the Artemis Accords during a ceremony at 3 p.m. EDT Monday, May 4, at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman will host Ambassador of Ireland to the United States of America Geraldine Byrne Nason; Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment Peter Burke, T.D., of Ireland; and U.S. Department of State officials for the ceremony.
This event is in person only. Media interested in attending must RSVP no later than 12 p.m. on May 4 to: hq-media@mail.nasa.gov. NASA’s media accreditation policy is online.
In 2020, during the first Trump Administration, the United States, led by NASA and the State Department, joined with seven other founding nations to establish the Artemis Accords, responding to the growing interest in lunar activities by both governments and private companies.
The accords introduced the first set of practical principles aimed at enhancing the safety, transparency, and coordination of civil space exploration on the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
Learn more about the Artemis Accords at:
https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-accords
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Camille Gallo / Elizabeth Shaw
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
camille.m.gallo@nasa.gov / elizabeth.a.shaw@nasa.gov
2026-04-30 18:19

Team members past and present from NASA’s 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter mission gathered on April 15, 2026, to celebrate 25 years since the spacecraft’s launch, which took place April 7, 2001. For the occasion, the team rolled out a giant global map of Mars created using imagery from Odyssey’s THEMIS (Thermal Emission Imaging System) infrared camera. The celebration took place at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, which leads the mission.
2026-04-30 18:13
The Eta Aquarid meteor shower brings shooting stars before dawn, the Moon meets brilliant Venus after sunset, and May wraps up with a rare Blue Moon.
Shooting stars before dawn, a brilliant meetup between the Moon and Venus, and a rare “Blue Moon” to end the month.
That’s What’s Up this May.
First up: the Eta Aquarid meteor shower, which peaks in early May.
These shooting stars come from Halley’s Comet. Every year, Earth passes through the comet’s dusty trail, and those tiny particles burn up in our atmosphere. That’s what creates those bright streaks across the sky.
Halley’s Comet last passed through the inner solar system in 1986, and won’t return until 2061.
The Eta Aquarids appear to come from the constellation Aquarius. That’s where the shower gets its name.
These meteors are fast, racing into Earth’s atmosphere at about 40 miles per second. And because they’re moving so quickly, they can leave behind glowing trails that linger for a moment after the flash.
At peak, the shower can produce up to about 50 meteors an hour under ideal skies. The best time to watch? In the hours before dawn, looking generally toward the eastern sky.
For the best chance of seeing meteor showers, go somewhere dark, let your eyes adjust for about 20 to 30 minutes, and avoid bright lights, including your phone screen.
The peak is expected around May 5th to 6th, but bright moonlight this year may wash out some of the fainter meteors.
On May 18th, look west just after sunset.
The Moon gets a bright little sidekick as Venus shines nearby. The crescent Moon helps point the way, making this an easy one to spot.
Venus is one of the brightest objects we can see from Earth, often called the Evening Star.
The Moon and Venus look close together because they line up from our point of view on Earth. But in reality, they’re separated by millions of miles in space.
Last month, Artemis II launched right around the time of the April 1st Full Moon, sending astronauts around the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years and giving us some spectacular new views of our closest neighbor.
And now, May ends with another lunar moment: a Full Moon on May 31st. This one is a Blue Moon.
But it actually won’t look blue.
Blue Moon is the name given to the second Full Moon in a single calendar month. It’s a relatively rare event, hence the phrase “once in a blue moon.”
So whether you’re up before sunrise or out after sunset, May is a great time to look up.
Here are the phases of the Moon for May.
You can stay up to date on all of NASA’s missions exploring the solar system and beyond at science.nasa.gov.
I’m Raquel Villanueva from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and that’s What’s Up for this month.
2026-04-30 17:39
Teams move the core stage, or largest section, of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for NASA’s Artemis III mission into the Vehicle Assembly Building at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in this photo from April 27, 2026.
The SLS core stage traveled 900 miles on the Pegasus barge from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans where the stage is manufactured, to complete assembly of the massive rocket at NASA Kennedy.
This mission will launch crew aboard the Orion spacecraft on top of the SLS rocket to test rendezvous and docking capabilities between Orion and commercial spacecraft needed to land astronauts on the Moon.
Image credit: NASA/Glenn Benson
2026-04-30 17:31
The Kingdom of Morocco signed the Artemis Accords on April 29th during a ceremony in the country’s capital, Rabat, becoming the latest nation to commit to the responsible exploration of space.
“It is my privilege to welcome the Kingdom of Morocco as the newest signatory to the Artemis Accords,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman in recorded remarks. “The accords began as the framework for like-minded nations to come together for the peaceful exploration of space. But now, under President Trump’s vision for an enduring presence on the lunar surface, Artemis Accords partners will be able to make meaningful contributions to that collective effort. Citizens from every Artemis nation will play a pivotal role in humanity’s greatest adventure.”
Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita of Morocco signed the accords on behalf of the country. Bourita underscored Morocco’s commitment to shared values across a range of critical sectors.
The signing ceremony took place during the Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau’s official visit to Morocco with the U.S. Ambassador to Morocco Duke Buchan III also participating in the event.
In 2020, during the first Trump Administration, the United States, led by NASA and the State Department, joined with seven other founding nations to establish the Artemis Accords, responding to the growing interest in lunar activities by both governments and private companies. The accords introduced the first set of practical principles aimed at enhancing the safety and coordination between like-minded nations as they explore the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
Signing the Artemis Accords means committing to explore peaceably and transparently, to render aid to those in need, to enable access to scientific data that all of humanity can learn from, to ensure activities do not interfere with those of others, and to preserve historically significant sites and artifacts by developing best practices for space exploration for the benefit of all.
More countries are expected to sign the Artemis Accords in the months and years ahead, as NASA continues its work to establish a safe, peaceful, and prosperous future in space.
Learn more about the Artemis Accords at:
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