The European Space Agency is diversifying its partnerships as NASA budget cuts threaten international collaboration
Photo credits: Mila Stoker Pro / BigStock
The European Space Agency (ESA) has announced a new collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), days after the US government proposed slashing NASA’s budget by 24%, putting joint projects at risk.
The statement of intent signed by ESA and ISRO on May 7 covers cooperation on human space exploration, initially focusing on low earth orbits but later extending to the moon.
While the change of direction in the US represents a challenge for European governments and industry, it is also an “enormous opportunity,” says Hermann Ludwig Moeller, director of the European Space Policy Institute, an independent thinktank co-founded by ESA.
“We may have been a bit too used, over many decades, to being complementary to somebody else’s programmes, when we certainly have the capability in industry, in our workforces and talents to do much more,” he told Science…
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