How does NASA cooperate with other countries in carrying out space projects?
A. International cooperation has been a fundamental part of NASA since the agency was formed in 1958. Over the years, NASA has signed more than 1,200 agreements with more than 135 countries and international organizations. This cooperation ranges from shared scientific data and joint research to construction of space hardware and orbital rendezvous, like the Apollo-Soyuz docking in 1975 and visits of Space Shuttles to the Russian Mir space station, which began in 1995. The International Space Station is one of the largest high-tech cooperative ventures ever, with formal participation by the United States, Russia, Canada, Japan and 11 nations of the European Space Agency and Brazil. Joint programs allow each country to contribute its individual expertise. They also foster an increased understanding of different cultures, leading to more peaceful and productive relations between the people of the countries as a whole. In many cases, the pooled resources and shared funding inherent in mos
