Minister of Science and Technology, Prof. Daniel Hershkowitz: "The agreement constitutes international recognition of Israel's status as a space power" * Dr. Zvi Kaplan, head of the Israel Space Agency: "This is another layer in research and development relations in general, and space in particular"
From right to left: Minister of Science, Prof. Daniel Hashkowitz, Jean-Jacques Durdin, head of the European Space Agency, Dr. Zvi Kaplan, head of the Israeli Space Agency.
The Israeli government signed yesterday (Sunday), January 30, 2011, an agreement with the European Space Agency (ESA) regarding cooperation in space for peaceful purposes. On behalf of the government, Dr. Zvi Kaplan, Director of the Israel Space Agency (ISA), signed, and on behalf of the European Space Agency, Jean Jacque Dordain, Director General of ESA, signed. The signing took place in the capacity of Minister of Science and Technology Prof. Daniel Hershkovitz as part of the events of the XNUMXth International Space Conference named after the late Ilan Ramon, which opened this morning (Sunday) at the Fisher Institute.
This is the first agreement of its kind between Israel and ESA, within the framework of which it will be possible to promote projects of mutual interest in the field of exploration and exploitation of outer space for peaceful purposes. Within the framework of the agreement, it will be possible to promote in the future exchanges of scientists and engineers, exchanges of information and joint conferences, as well as collaborations between research institutions and industries in this field.
The Minister of Science and Technology, Prof. Daniel Hershkowitz said that "the agreement constitutes international recognition of Israel's position as a space power". Dr. Zvi Kaplan, head of the Israel Space Agency, said that "this is another layer in the research and development relations in general, and space in particular, which are getting tighter and tighter with European countries and will enable the expansion of scientific and economic cooperation with the countries of this important continent"
Among the areas agreed upon for cooperation are the following areas:
1. Space sciences: and especially astronomy, astrophysics and space engineering, the study of the solar system.
2. Space technologies and in particular space engineering including satellites of various sizes, including micro and nano-satellites.
3. Applications of observations to the country's post office from space, and in particular monitoring of environmental contamination, meteorology and geodesy, and treatment of natural disasters.
4. Communication technologies and applications and development of services based on satellite navigation systems.
5. Studies in space in the conditions of zero gravity for the purposes of materials engineering, biology and medical uses.
6. Development of advanced technologies for ground stations to manage satellites
With the signing of the agreement, Israel joins a distinguished list of countries, you are an ESA partner.
From Israel's point of view, this agreement joins the agreements signed in recent years with the French and Italian space agencies and is an important pillar in the strategic partnership between Israel and Europe.
The European Space Agency (ESA) unites about 18 countries in Europe, which operate joint space programs for the research and development of space science and its applications with an annual budget of approximately 4 billion euros.
ESA is also a central arm in the execution of the main space programs led by the European Union, for example, the "Galileo" satellite navigation program and the environmental monitoring program from space using satellites ("GMES" program). In addition, the agency operates a program for cooperation, industrial support and scientific projects in space.
The scientific community in Israel as well as the industrial community may benefit from the fruits of this agreement in increasing cooperation within a European framework.
On the occasion of the signing of the agreement, a three-person Ramat Darg delegation arrived in Israel, including the CEO of the European Space Agency, Mr. Jean-Jacques Durdin, and a member of the organization's board of directors and the head of the administration of science and unmanned research Prof. David Southwood.
The 30th International Space Conference named after the late Ilan Ramon is being held on January 31-2011, XNUMX at the Fisher Institute, Herzliya.
