The Artemis Accords were not written as “NHI discovery rules.” They are a civil-space norms package focused on safe, interoperable, and transparent exploration and use of the Moon and other bodies. (NASA)
Even so, if NHI were discovered in the course of Artemis-era activity (for example, an artifact, a technosignature, a visitation or biologically relevant evidence), the Accords would shape what happens next in ways that matter.
Below are the most important implications, with a clear separation between what the Accords actually say and what follows as plausible governance consequences.
What the Accords concretely change that matters for NHI discovery
1) More missions, more sensors, more “discovery surface area”
The Accords’ interoperability and coordination goals are designed to make complex multinational lunar operations easier. (NASA)
In practice, that tends to increase:
- the number of instruments operating in cislunar space and on the surface,
- the volume of high-quality telemetry and imagery,
- the number of organizations capable of independently verifying anomalies.
Implication: even without an explicit “NHI clause,” Artemis-style cooperation increases the odds that unusual findings are detected, cross-checked, and preserved long enough to be studied.
2) A stronger norm of scientific transparency (but with real-world limits)
The Accords explicitly include “release of scientific data” and broader transparency commitments. (NASA)
That is significant because the decisive step in any NHI claim is not the initial find. It is independent verification.
Implication: among signatories, the Accords nudge toward publishable, shareable evidence rather than “single-custodian” evidence.
Limit: the Accords are non-binding, and they sit alongside national security law, export controls, and proprietary protections. So the transparency norm helps most when:
- the observation is unclassified civil science data,
- the discoverer is incentivized to disclose,
- multiple partners have enough shared access to replicate.
(If a finding becomes entangled with defense sensors or sensitive capabilities, the Accords alone will not force disclosure.)
3) A ready-made coordination channel for “we found something”
The Accords create a diplomatic and programmatic network for consultation and coordination among signatories. (NASA)
That matters because discovery events are governance events: you need rapid, credible cross-validation and coherent public communication to prevent confusion and escalation.
Implication: Artemis partners have a standing forum that can convene quickly, which is exactly what “post-detection” scenarios require.
The two most NHI-relevant provisions, in practice
4) “Safety zones” and deconfliction can protect a discovery site
The Accords’ deconfliction approach is intended to prevent harmful interference among lunar actors. (NASA)
If an anomalous site is discovered (unusual structure, emissions source, or material), a deconfliction perimeter is a practical necessity for:
- evidence preservation,
- contamination control,
- accident prevention,
- controlled scientific access.
Implication: the Accords supply a governance vocabulary for “standoff while we assess,” which is essential in any credible NHI discovery workflow.
Risk: a discovery-triggered safety zone could be abused as de facto territorial control, especially if the site is in a high-value region. The legitimacy hinge is whether the zone is:
- transparently declared,
- proportionate to safety and science needs,
- time-limited and reviewable,
- paired with consultation.
This is exactly the line that critics of safety zones worry about in other contexts too. (ASIL)
5) Heritage language provides a precedent, but it is human-centered today
The Accords state an intent to preserve “outer space heritage,” commonly described as historically significant human or robotic landing sites and artifacts. (UN Documentation)
Implication: the Accords establish an important norm: not everything “found” in space is a resource to be exploited.
Limit: the heritage framing is built around human history. An NHI artifact, if discovered, would not neatly fit existing definitions.
Witness Interpretation (policy-level): the heritage clause is still a powerful legal and ethical precedent that could be extended. A rational next step would be an “Anomalous Heritage” concept: protected status for non-human or unknown-origin artifacts pending verification, similar to protective custody of a potential archaeological site on Earth.
Planetary protection and biohazard governance
6) The Accords do not substitute for planetary protection protocols, but they interact with them
If “NHI discovery” means biology (microbial life, complex life, or bioactive material), the operational playbook is driven by planetary protection standards, not the Accords. NASA’s planetary protection discipline exists explicitly to protect science integrity and limit harmful contamination. (NASA SMA) COSPAR’s planetary protection policy emphasizes preventing false positives in life detection and outlines strict handling logic for samples and missions that could encounter life. (COSPAR website)
Implication: Artemis-era signatories, by coordinating deep-space activity, can normalize high-compliance planetary protection and sample-handling practices across partners, which is essential if biological NHI evidence appears.
Practical takeaway: if a mission finds biologically ambiguous material, the credibility of the discovery will rise or fall on contamination control and chain-of-custody. Planetary protection is the difference between “history” and “maybe it was our own microbes.”
The missing piece: post-detection protocols for NHI, and why Artemis can accelerate them
7) There are established “post-detection” norms in SETI that Artemis could adopt by analogy
The International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) “Declaration of Principles” (often called post-detection protocols) lays out widely cited guidance: verify before announcing, share data to enable confirmation, and avoid sending a reply until international consultations occur. It also anticipates creating an international committee to coordinate analysis and public release advice after a credible detection. (IAASpace)
Implication: Artemis signatories already agree to a cooperation framework where a “lunar post-detection protocol” could be adopted quickly as an addendum or best-practice annex.
Hypothesis (governance): the fastest route to legitimacy is convergence: Artemis operations + IAA-style post-detection discipline + UN-facing consultation. That combination reduces the risk that a discovery becomes a purely national asset, or that the world receives fragmented, contradictory narratives.
Recent work indicates the IAA community has been actively revisiting and updating post-detection thinking in light of modern information dynamics, suggesting the governance ecosystem is not static. (arXiv)
Strategic and political implications (the part nobody wants to say out loud)
8) An NHI discovery will collide with security incentives
Even though Artemis is a civil framework, NHI discovery has predictable security consequences:
- questions about origin and capability,
- concerns about strategic advantage,
- pressure to restrict information flows,
- disputes over custody, access, and verification.
Implication: the Accords help most before the discovery, by normalizing transparency and shared standards. After a high-stakes discovery, states may revert to national control unless there is an agreed trigger mechanism for:
- independent verification access,
- controlled information release,
- dispute resolution.
This is also why “soft law” matters: it sets expectations early, before the first irreversible incident.
What Artemis could do next (concrete, actionable governance upgrades)
If Artemis signatories wanted the Accords to be “NHI-ready” without turning them into science fiction, a practical package would look like this:
- Anomalous Discovery Reporting Standard (civil)
- common metadata, time-stamping, calibration disclosure, and preservation rules.
- Independent Verification Pathway
- predefined list of partner labs and analysis teams, with rapid sample or data access under contamination controls.
- Discovery Site Stewardship Rule
- deconfliction zone criteria: proportionality, transparency, duration limits, consultation requirements.
- Provisional Anomalous Heritage Protection
- automatic interim protection status for any candidate non-human artifact or structure pending verification.
- Public Communication Protocol
- aligned with IAA post-detection ideas: verify, disclose methodology, release enough data for replication, avoid premature claims. (IAASpace)
- UN-facing consultation channel
- not as “permission,” but as legitimacy infrastructure, because NHI discovery instantly becomes a global human matter.
Bottom line
The Artemis Accords increase the world’s capacity to detect and validate extraordinary anomalies by expanding interoperable exploration and normalizing transparency and data-sharing norms. (NASA)
They also create a ready coalition mechanism that could operationalize post-detection protocols quickly, especially if paired with existing scientific guidance like IAA’s Declaration of Principles and stringent planetary protection standards. (IAASpace)
But the Accords do not yet solve the hardest problems an NHI discovery would trigger custody, verification access, classification pressures, and the thin line between safety-based exclusion and de facto appropriation. In other words, Artemis is a strong start for “how we work together on the Moon,” and a decent skeleton for “how we handle the extraordinary,” but it still needs explicit muscles.
References
Committee on Space Research (COSPAR). (2024, July). COSPAR Policy on Planetary Protection (Space Research Today, No. 220) [PDF]. https://cosparhq.cnes.fr/assets/uploads/2024/07/PP-Policy_SRT_220-July-2024.pdf?utm_source=https://uapedia.ai
International Academy of Astronautics. (1989). Declaration of Principles Concerning Activities Following the Detection of Extraterrestrial Intelligence [PDF]. https://iaaspace.org/wp-content/uploads/iaa/Scientific%20Activity/setideclaration.pdf?utm_source=https://uapedia.ai
International Academy of Astronautics SETI Permanent Committee. (n.d.). Protocols (includes “Declaration of Principles (revised 2010)” listing). Retrieved December 20, 2025, from https://iaaseti.org/en/protocols/?utm_source=https://uapedia.ai
Garrett, M. A., Denning, K., Tennen, L. I., & Oliver, C. (2025). SETI post-detection protocols: Progress towards a new version (arXiv:2510.14506). arXiv. https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.14506?utm_source=https://uapedia.ai
National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (2020, October 13). The Artemis Accords [PDF]. https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Artemis-Accords-signed-13Oct2020.pdf?utm_source=https://uapedia.ai
National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (n.d.). Artemis Accords. Retrieved December 20, 2025, from https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-accords/?utm_source=https://uapedia.ai
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Office of Safety and Mission Assurance. (n.d.). Planetary protection. Retrieved December 20, 2025, from https://sma.nasa.gov/sma-disciplines/planetary-protection?utm_source=https://uapedia.ai
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) SETI Group. (n.d.). Declaration of Principles Concerning Activities Following the Detection of Extraterrestrial Intelligence (online text). Retrieved December 20, 2025, from https://seti.ucla.edu/jlm/seti/protocol.html?utm_source=https://uapedia.ai
Suggested internal crosslinks
- Michael Salla’s Exopolitics
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