“Copernicus is now the world’s leading Earth-
observation project,” he said. “This shows all the
support for an awareness of our planet, and I
think it is good because taxpayers are asking
(governments) to do something and you can
only do something if you know what to do.”
Spain’s Science Minister Pedro Duque added
that climate research is also where industry
wants to be. Madrid is hosting the United
Nations global climate meeting from Dec. 2-13.
“We have the most advanced set of Earth
observation satellites flying, so everyone
in every industry wants to be involved in
developing the top technology because this
is a place where European companies can get
ahead of companies in the rest of the world,”
Duque said.
Other missions getting backing included
sending the first European astronaut to the
Moon, the building of a space shuttle and parts
of a planned lunar space station, researching
black holes, and safety projects to remove space
debris and detect asteroids.
Germany will be largest single funder, with 22.9
percent of the total.
One of ESA’s main goals, according to the
ministerial meeting, is also to ensure that
European countries keep pace in space
exploration with competition from the United
States, newcomers like China, and growing
interest from the private sector.
“For me, this ministerial (meeting) has one very
clear message. This is united space in Europe,
all states working together and not competing,”
Woerner said.