ESA and Russia sign space agreement
The European Space Agency (ESA) and Russia have signed an agreement on cooperation and partnership in the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes. The agreement, signed by ESA Director General Antonio Rodotà and Russian Minister for Foreign Affairs Igor Sergeevich Ivanov on 11 February, succeeds a 1990 agreement between ESA and the USSR. Geopolitical developments over the last decade have, according to ESA, 'enhanced cooperation and genuine partnership between ESA and Russia.' New areas for cooperation include launchers and robotic and human planetary exploration. 'This cooperation is a tangible building block for a strategic partnership between Europe and Russia,' said Mr Rodotà. 'We are ready to continue and reinforce our long standing cooperation with Russia for the benefit of both parties.' The Russian aviation and space agency, Rosaviakosmos, will implement the agreement on the Russian side. ESA and Rosaviakosmos are already working together in a number of areas, such as human spaceflight, microgravity research, Earth observation, satellite navigation and space science. Cooperation between Europe and Russia was recently illustrated at a conference in Moscow, where researchers discussed possible collaborative projects and opportunities for space research under the EU's Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) for research.