Mexico’s Space Agency to Fight COVID-19

Mexico’s Space Agency (AEM) joined the fight against the COVID-19 outbreak and is now coordinating multipronged efforts to address and contain the deadly disease and to support the local population during these troubled times.

The respiratory disease that has infected over 2 million people globally and 8,261 individuals as of today continues to spread throughout the country. This has led numerous public and private institutions to look for measures to curtail the outbreak and to provide relief to those who have been infected.

AEM, part of the Ministry of Communications and Transport, called Mexican companies and institutions to join its efforts to address the pandemic by submitting proposals that use space and satellite technologies to reduce the spread of the virus, alleviate the economic effects of the outbreak and support the local population. The agency claims to have received 95 viable proposals to alleviate the effects of the pandemic, some of which can be implemented almost immediately while others will require support from the industry.

Salvador Landeros Ayala, Director General of AEM, also explained that the agency is working with its peers from China, France, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Russia and the US to use and develop tools that use state-of-the-art technology to fight the outbreak. He also pointed out that the agency is closely working with Mexico’s National Science and Technology Council (CONACYT) in the latter’s call for scientific research and technology development projects in healthcare to fight the COVID-19 outbreak.