To date, Latvia invested over 3.2 million euros in the support of 27 space exploration projects, Finance Minister Dana Reizniece-Ozola (Green / Peasants) said today at the European Planetary Scientific Congress.
Reizniece-Ozola said in her speech that low-tech goods accounted for about 60 percent of the products produced in Latvia, and also that the first satellite project Venta-1 in Latvia could be considered as “the first impetus for Latvia’s participation in space exploration”.
In Latvia, the program is supported not only by scientific centers but also by the private sector. And a striking example, according to the minister, is the company Balti Scientific Instruments, Eventech LLC and RD Alfa JSC. The technology produced by them is used in projects.
The minister also said that in order to become a full member of the European Space Agency (ESA), it is necessary to contribute a certain percentage of GDP to ESA projects for several years. The total amount of these investments for Latvia is 4 million Euros.
We remind that Latvia became an official member of ESA on January 30, 2015, signing the charter of the Eurasian Economic Community (PECS).
ESA’s projects include space science (astronomy, astrophysics, solar system research), including Earth observation, for example, environmental monitoring and meteorology, telecommunications and navigation, life sciences and physics, as well as ground-based engineering.
