Latin American and Caribbean Space Agency

ALCE (Agencia Latinoamericana y Caribeña del Espacio — Latin American and Caribbean Space Agency) is a Mexico City-based intergovernmental regional space organization founded in 2021 by seven member states: Argentina, Mexico, Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Honduras, and Costa Rica. ALCE represents the region's first formal multilateral space cooperation framework, intended to coordinate satellite development programs, share Earth observation data, pool infrastructure investments, and build collective space capacity rather than duplicate efforts across fragmented national programs. The region has significant but dispersed space activity: Brazil operates its own advanced agency AEB and launches from the Alcântara Launch Center; Argentina's CONAE operates SAOCOM SAR satellites; Mexico has AEM; but most smaller member states lack independent launch or manufacturing capability. ALCE aims to create a cooperative structure analogous to the European Space Agency model — where smaller members benefit from shared investment in larger programs. Key early priorities include regional disaster response satellite data sharing (floods, hurricanes, wildfires affecting the Amazon), remote sensing for environmental monitoring, and human capital development through joint training programs. ALCE complements rather than replaces existing national agencies.