Armenia to join other CIS countries in space research cooperation

PanARMENIAN.Net - The member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) will join forces to cooperate in space research and industry , TASS reports

The CIS currently includes Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Under the deal, the participants will jointly research space and planets, design spacecraft and their elements, create and develop ground infrastructure, conduct remote sensing of the Earth, protect the space environment, carry out space missions and train specialists for the space industry.

"The aim of the agreement is to lay the legal and organizational foundation for multilateral cooperation in the domain of research and use of space for peaceful means and to contribute to preparation and signing of other agreements… on practical aspects of joint space activities," the document reads.

The Russian government expects to sign the deal during the meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of Government, to be held in Astana on Friday and attended by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.