Mexico to create its first space center on Yucatan Peninsula

"In the next few days, [U.S.] astronaut Jose Hernandez and engineer Fernando de la Pena will travel there to carry out an inspection, in order to study concrete details of the future construction," he said.

Pimentel said the space center will be built near the city of Chetumal, on the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. The space center, to be located some 15-20 kilometers (9-12 miles) away from residential locations, will built on about 30 hectares of land.

In 2008, the Mexican parliament approved the creation of a Mexican space agency (Agencia Espacial Mexicana - AEXA). The initiative was put forward in 2007 by NASA's Hernandez, whose father emigrated to the U.S. from Mexico. The structure of Mexico's space agency will be similar to that of NASA. The initial cost of the project is estimated at $80 million; Kazinform cites RIA Novosti. See www.en.rian.ru for full version.