The acting Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, has visited the facilities this center specializing in research and development in areas such as aeronautics, space, and security, among others.
After attending a presentation of the capabilities of this complex, Robles has toured the facilities of the Space Center, one of the pillars of this Institute for the control of satellites and data processing. It is, precisely, in these installations where the monitoring of the PAZ satellite is carried out, in orbit since February 2018.
In the second part of the visit, the acting minister was able to see first-hand the operations and work carried out in the Center for Astrobiology (CAB), specialized in the investigation of the conditions that make possible the emergence and maintenance of life in the Universe.
Ministry of DefenceTogether with the director of the CAB, Miguel Mas Hesse, he has toured the main building to later witness the work of the professionals assigned to the molecular ecology laboratory and the astronomical observatory, equipped with a robotic telescope.
Robles has put in value the contribution of the Ministry of Defense to the area of research that "is so unknown to citizens" and added that "we are going to promote much more the investment that is being made in the field of astrophysics, in studies of the future and in the discovery of life on other planets. "
Along with the financial contribution that Defense makes in these projects, the minister has also insisted on the solvency and professional quality of the Institute team.
In this sense, the general director of INTA, Lieutenant General José María Salom, stated that "the budget is sufficient for the obligations of the Institute and to promote research outside of Spain and outside Europe." The Ministry of Defense enough effort for INTA to do its job ".
"The important thing is that we have managed to earn the trust of NASA and the European Agency, we are a European benchmark," concluded Margarita Robles.
The Secretary of State for Defense, Ángel Olivares, and the Secretary General of the Institute, General Luis Antonio Boixareu, among other civil and military authorities, also attended the visit.
Exponent in the field of research
The National Institute of Aerospace Technology 'Esteban Terradas' (INTA) is a public research organization under the Ministry of Defense, specialized in research and technological development in the fields of aeronautics, space, hydrodynamics, security and defense.
The INTA was created in 1942 with the aim that Spain had a center dedicated to aeronautical research. Since then, the Institute has evolved to become a unique center, with extensive R & D & I capabilities, carrying out a trial
The INTA Space Center -Torrejón, one of the reference centers of the Institute for the control of satellites, was built in 2011 to accommodate the control and processing centers of the space missions PAZ and INGENIO.
For its part, the Center of Astrobiology (CAB), inaugurated in 2003, is devoted to the investigation of the conditions that make possible the emergence and maintenance of life in the Universe. The Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) also participates in its management.
The CAB has a building in the European Space Astronomy Center (ESAC) of the European Space Agency, located in Villanueva de la Cañada.
In addition, he leads the Spanish participation in NASA's Mars Science Laboratory project and which, at present, analyzes the surface and atmosphere of Mars.
