NASA and the Israeli Space Agency (ISA) have announced the signing of an agreement that would expand their cooperation in the future exploration of space. According to a report from the International Business Times, the Israeli government announced the agreement on Tuesday, saying that it would support research and exploration “for the betterment of mankind and for peaceful use.”

According to the ISA’s chairman, Isaac Ben-Israel, “Israeli space technology is known for being extremely lightweight. Seeing that conserving energy will be vital in any future mission to Mars, we expect our technology to play a key role in such endeavors.”

The ISA announced the agreement a few days following NASA’s release of a detailed plan for the first manned mission to Mars. The plan will be carried out in three phases, the first of which being the test of the Space Launch System and the Orion space capsule in 2018. The second and third missions would bring astronauts to the Red Planet sometime in the 2030s.

NASA and the ISA have been working together for quite some time, carrying out studies on climate and microgravity. The latest agreement will expand work on previous projects, and will allow the two agencies to conduct missions together. It will allow for the greater integration of scientific data and research facilities on the ground.