The administrator of the POT, Bill Nelson, will travel to Mexico on April 22 and 23 to strengthen bilateral cooperation, the US space agency announced this Tuesday.
Nelson and his number two, Pam Melroythey could meet with the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (although this meeting is still unconfirmed), as well as with senior officials of the country’s Executive and with members of the Mexican Space Agency (AEM).
The objective, according to NASA, is to “strengthen bilateral cooperation in a wide range of areas of innovation and research, such as Earth sciences and Nanosatellites, among others.”
“The two nations are working together to achieve common goals to address the climate change“, the note stressed.
The visit will discuss ways to expand collaboration, such as using NASA missions to study air quality and improve water resource management.
The US space agency recalled that Mexico is a signatory of the Artemis Accordswhich establish practical principles to guide cooperation on space exploration between countries.
“Students from Mexico will also meet with Nelson and Melroy to talk about science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education, and about their important role as members of the Artemis Generation,” the statement reads.
NASA plans to bring samples from Mars starting in 2030
NASA indicated this Monday that it plans to bring to Earth during the 2030s the martian soil samples picked up by the robot Perseveranceat a cost of between 8 billion and 11 billion dollars, despite the budgetary challenges it faces.
The NASA administrator highlighted that according to the budget for fiscal year 2025, as well as the anticipation of future budget limitations, based on the current design of the mission, the Martian samples could not be returned until 2040, a date “very distant.” However, he noted that they will make adjustments to have them sooner.
The Mars Sample Return (MSR) “It will be one of the most complex missions that NASA has ever undertaken,” Bill Nelson stressed during a teleconference.
He Perseverance has been collecting soil samples in the Jezero craternorth of the Martian equator and where the presence of rivers that crossed the crater wall has been discovered, would have turned it into a lake, according to scientists estimate.
