20/06/2022 (Agence Europe) – The European Space Agency (ESA) and the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) signed two cooperation agreements on Wednesday 15 June in Noordwijk (Netherlands), one on the Artemis lunar exploration programme (see EUROPE 12590/28) and the other in the field of Earth sciences. “ESA’s Lunar Pathfinder mission is critical to advancing the communications infrastructure needed at the Moon for a long-term human presence”, said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. On the 2nd agreement, Nelson noted that the US and Europe provide more than 70% of the world’s Earth science data. “This agreement will set the standard for future international collaboration at a time when we need global collaboration most to tackle the climate crisis”, he said in a statement. (PH)