ESA, Estonia sign space research agreement

TALLINN, Estonia, June 26 (UPI) -- The European Space Agency and Estonia have signed an agreement to work more closely in the fields of astronomy and space science.

The document was signed last week by Rene Oosterlinck, the ESA's director of legal affairs and external relations, and Juhan Parts, Estonia's minister of economic affairs and communications during a ceremony in Tallinn.

Estonia is the first of the nations that have recently joined the European Union to sign a cooperation agreement with the ESA.

The space agency said Estonia has long-standing experience in astronomy and space science, with the nation's observatory at Tartu working in the field since the 19th century and participating in preparations for two ESA space missions.

Estonian astronomers are also involved in preparing data reduction algorithms in cooperation with the University of Turku in Finland, while the Estonian company Vertex Estonia produced part of the ESA's 35-meter deep-space antenna that is used to track the Mars Express spacecraft.