Mexico and the United States strengthen space and environmental cooperation

Resilience to climate change, environmental monitoring, and space development are among the priorities of both countries

On April 23, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador received Bill Nelson, director of NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), and Deputy Administrator Pamela Melroy, one of only two women to have commanded a space shuttle.

While NASA is a space agency, its research and technological tools contribute to the understanding and management of the planet's resources such as water, forests, and promoting resilience to climate change, so cooperation between both countries will also focus on environmental and meteorological aspects.

According to the statement issued by the United States Embassy in Mexico, in the space field, discussions revolved around the Artemis Accords signed by Mexico in 2021, the possibilities of the first woman in humanity stepping on the Moon, and the AzTechSat satellite, launched between NASA and the Mexican Space Agency to demonstrate communications between satellites already in space.

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In the environmental aspect, access to tools to measure pollution and air quality will be facilitated to make better decisions regarding forest fires and greenhouse gas emissions, such as the TEMPO system.

In terms of water, two projects will be promoted in collaboration with the International Boundary and Water Commission, focused on improving hydrological forecasting in the Rio Grande basin and the use of remote sensing to estimate the interaction between surface and groundwater.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, through his social networks, announced that he asked the head of NASA for Mexican astronaut Katya Echazarreta to go back to space.

Meanwhile, the United States Ambassador to Mexico highlighted the importance of promoting the education of young people in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) areas to expand the space horizons of both countries.

The meeting was also attended by Chancellor Alicia Bárcena and Dr. María Elena Álvarez-Buylla Roces, Director-General of the National Council of Humanities, Science, and Technology (Conahcyt).