If you were asked where space agencies around the world are located, you would probably only be able to give a reason about the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which is the space agency of the United States. However, it would also be difficult to pinpoint its headquarters, because it is in fact spread across several states in that country.

After the creation of the Mexican Space Agency (AEM) in 2010, Mexico joined the group of nations with space agencies dedicated to research and development of space technology. Although AEM is one of the youngest space agencies in the world, Mexico has had a long tradition in space research, dating back to the 1950s with the launch of sounding rockets to study the upper atmosphere.

The creation of the AEM is an important step in consolidating Mexico’s space sector and coordinating research and development efforts in this area. With the AEM, Mexico seeks to strengthen its presence in space and take advantage of the opportunities offered by the exploration and use of outer space for the benefit of humanity.

Undoubtedly, the Latin American and Caribbean Space Agency (ALCE) is a very important addition to the map of global space agencies. ALCE, based in Mexico, brings together several Latin American and Caribbean countries and aims to coordinate cooperative space activities in the region for the peaceful use and exploration of outer space, the Moon and other celestial bodies. The creation of ALCE marks a milestone in the history of Latin American and Caribbean space exploration, and reflects the region’s commitment to the advancement of space science and technology.

ALCE joins other major space agencies around the world, working together to expand our knowledge and use of outer space. ALCE’s diversity of official languages, which include Spanish, English, French, Portuguese and Dutch, also reflects the rich cultural and linguistic diversity of the Latin American and Caribbean region.

The European Space Agency (ESA) is itself a space agency made up of several European countries, working as a single group, which means that each country’s space agency is an ESA headquarters, which has helped them to combine the best of each country and have a large space presence, perhaps second only to NASA.

Talking about other important space agencies, we can mention the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), since Japan has focused a lot of efforts in the last decades to build a solid agency that provides them with a presence in space. On a par with the Japanese, and even a little above them, would be the China National Space Administration (CNSA), which is also beginning to have a strong and constant space presence.

Chinese astronaut Wang Yanping

And it would be a mistake not to mention such important space agencies as the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), the former for its number of facilities dedicated to aerospace research, which augur that soon they will also be able to go into space, and the latter there is not much to say, we all know its old rivalry with NASA, which culminated in the arrival of man on the Moon.

But if you are curious to know where all the space agencies in the world are located, on the Pillow Astronaut page you will find everything quite detailed on a map, plus links to the various websites of each agency.