WASHINGTON, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Germany on Thursday became the 29th country to sign the Artemis Accords, a U.S.-led multilateral agreement meant to establish norms of behavior in space and on the lunar surface. India, which last month became the fourth nation to achieve a soft landing on the moon, agreed to join the Artemis Accords in June but China and Russia have not. "It's a big deal, because Germany is the economic powerhouse of Europe and has been a part of the European space program forever," Nelson told Reuters on Thursday before the signing. Japan, various European countries and other nations with big to small space programs have joined the accords. The European Space Agency (ESA), which represents 22 member states including Germany, is a core NASA partner on Gateway, a planned space station that will orbit the moon as part of the Artemis program.

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Persons: Bill Nelson, Walther Pelzer, Nelson, NASA's, Artemis, Mike Gold, Joey Roulette, Will Dunham Organizations: Artemis Accords, NASA, German Space Agency, Reuters, European Space Agency, ESA, Thomson Locations: Germany, U.S, United States, China, India, Russia, Washington, Europe, Japan