Katya Echazarreta wants aerospace culture to boom in Mexico

MEXICO – The first Mexican woman to travel to space, Katya Echazarreta, together with the Mexican government, is promoting the development of talent and capabilities to strengthen the aerospace industry in Mexico and consolidate a national mission.

The young woman from Jalisco points out that she is working to ensure that these missions have astronauts selected and trained in the country, and that they use locally developed technology.

"I have been visiting Congress, the Senate; we are currently working for a constitutional reform, because in Mexico we do not have the necessary legislative basis for space missions from this country. So with this reform we are working to have those necessary bases to be able to work with the Mexican Space Agency, and eventually have a mission to the Moon, full of Mexicans," she said.

Katya Echazarreta is part of a work agenda that sustains the Mexican Space Agency (AEM), belonging to the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Transport (SICT) of the Government of Mexico, and promotes the interest of more Mexicans in this academic and professional sector.

"Very soon we will be able to announce our foundation, what we want to do is support Mexican talent with the whole aerospace theme, for all young Mexicans who want to study science, who want to study engineering, even art, photography, but who want to use it for the space industry; hopefully with the work we are doing, they will eventually have this opportunity," added Echazarreta.

She added that they are working on a technological development center in Mexico, where they will be able to research, create and develop space technology; which means that they will be able to have careers already focused, in the space area.

"We will be able to have more engineering and science jobs in the space area, and we will be able to have and train the first group of Mexicans who will work and live in space," she concluded.