A new vision for space activities in Europe has been presented by Ministers from around the world agree on the continent of the world. It aims to accelerate applications related to climate change, disaster relief, and the safety of satellites also astronauts in orbit.
The manifesto was approved at a meeting into the Portuguese city of Matosinhos. It also offers two inspiring goals – Europe to launch its astronauts and a mission to return ice samples from outer planets.
An unprecedented increase in public funding will be needed to realize the manifesto’s ambitions. However, it will also take time, said Portuguese Science Minister Manuel Haytor, who chaired a meeting of the member states from the European Space Agency (ESA).
“Today’s main topic is a clear and unanimous agreement on the mandate of Director General Esa to pursue the necessary negotiations between the Member States to enable these ideas in this vision so that all European citizens – Good. Value beyond the space system. “
There is general agreement that Europe as a bloc lags behind its international competitors. America and China are moving fast, and Europe is losing ground even in the specialties that were once so strong.
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An obvious example is missiles. Europe’s Ariane-5 vehicle dominated major satellite launches for two decades, but now SpaceX’s California Falcon multi-rocket has overtaken it. And in terms of innovation in general, Europe is weak. New space ventures in America are driven by private investment; European start-ups, on the other hand, are struggling with access to venture capital.
Esa’s new CEO Josef Ashbacher is working to revitalize Europe’s space ecosystem. In the fall, he hired a high-level group to investigate the matter. The recommendations of this advisory group formed the basis for the manifesto presented to member states at Matosinhos.
He identified three “accelerators” that Europe could use to speed things up:
Space for a Green Future: A space project that will allow us to understand the current state of the planet and will help us achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Earth observation satellites and their data are an essential part of this.
Rapid and Sustained Crisis Response: Space application that enables countries to deal with any crisis more effectively. Examples are the severe flooding and wildfires observed in parts of Europe earlier this year.
Protecting Space Resources: This week’s drama about Russia’s use of rockets to destroy satellites in orbit has highlighted the need for new systems to defend European astronauts and satellites from interference.