Mexico, Russia Ink Deal on Cooperation in Space Exploration
A total lunar eclipse takes place in the sky over the Mexican city of Guadalajara early on April 15, 2014. The entire event was to be visible from North and South America, but sky watchers in northern and eastern Europe, eastern Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia were out of luck, according to US space agency NASA. HECTOR GUERRERO / AFP via Getty Images

Mexico and Russia have inked a deal on cooperation in space exploration during the Russian delegation's visit for the 200th anniversary of the country's independence on Tuesday.

Salvador Landeros Ayala, director of the Mexican Space Agency, signed the agreement with the deputy general director of the Russian State Space Corporation, Sergey Valentinovich Saveliev, Mexico News Daily reported.

The deal covers collaboration on outer space exploration and the use of space equipment and technologies that could result in manned space travel and shared use of spacecraft launched services.

Areas of cooperation also include astrophysical research and planetary studies, satellite communications, remote observation of Earth from space, and information sharing.

It also involves the study of space biology and medicine, spatial meteorology, and the mitigation or reduction of space debris.

According to Landeros Ayala, Russia's pioneering activities in space have been an inspiration for the whole world, particularly Mexico. He cited the journey of Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin, who was the first human to travel into space in 1961, El Universal reported.

After that achievement, Landeros Ayala said Gagarin visited Mexico, and a year later, the National Commission for Outer Space was created, which was the precursor of the current Mexican Space Agency.

"So we have a long history of good relations (with Russia)," he noted.

Last July, Mexico has joined Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Costa Rica, and Ecuador in a deal to create a Latin American regional space agency.

Mexico, Russia Also Signs Deal on Bilateral Trade and Economic Cooperation

Aside from space exploration, a memorandum of agreement between the Russia-Mexico Entrepreneurial Committee and the Mexican Business Council for Foreign Trade, Investment and Technology was also signed.

Russia's Labor and Social Protection Minister Anton Kotyakov earlier discussed with Mexican Economy Minister Tatiana Clouthier prospects for bilateral trade and economic cooperation, Russian news agency TASS reported. Kotyakov has also met with President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

Mexico remains to be Russia's second-largest trading partner in the Latin American region after Brazil. Mexico imports mostly metallurgical and chemical products from Russia, with over 25 percent of Mexican exports are vehicles and their spare parts.

Mexico's Space Agency

Meanwhile, Mexico's Space Agency had also partnered with Airbus to extract resources on the Moon. According to The Register, the aerospace company, together with the Mexican Space Agency, will start a project called Dereum Labs to develop an end-to-end process from regolith identification and work on the technologies needed for lunar resources extraction.

Airbus and Mexico are not the only ones seeking tech to extract resources on the Moon. The Artemis Records governing NASA's upcoming lunar mission also include a legal framework to make moon mining allowable. Japan has also signed up on the contract, with China starting to survey the Moon for resources.

Victor de la Vela, head of Airbus in Latin America & the Caribbean, said the agreement between Mexico is the first step in a fruitful collaboration with the country, according to an Airbus press statement.

Carlos Mariscal, CEO of Dereum Labs, said they envision an interplanetary economy. Mariscal added that "in a few years, the industries that today are not related to space will be doing business on the Moon, Mars and beyond."

Landeros Ayala said they "are very pleased" with Mexico's partnership with Airbus since the main objective of the Mexican Space Agency is to promote talent and entrepreneurship among the "new generations."

Airbus is known to be the pioneer of sustainable aerospace and constantly innovates to provide technologically-advanced solutions in aerospace.

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Written by: Mary Webber

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