The center was founded in 1973 by the Mexican federal government, which aimed to create a research institution outside
Mexico City (where 80% of Mexico's scientific and technical research was performed at the time). At the time, most of the research concerning the
Baja California Peninsula took place at the
Scripps Institution of Oceanography in
La Jolla,
California. The team to found the institution was led by Raúl N. Ordarza, Emmanuel Méndez Palma and Remigio Valdés of CONACYT;
Arcadio Poveda and Félix Córdoba of the
National Autonomous University of Mexico and Nicolás Grijalva of the
Autonomous University of Baja California's School of Marine Studies and Math professor at Scripps. The institution formed part of the design group to produce the first satellite 100% designed and built in Mexico. The other major partners were the
National Autonomous University of Mexico and the
National Polytechnic Institute. == Organization ==