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On September 12, 1962, then US President John F. Kennedy spoke a word in Houston that would go down in history: "We chose to go to the Moon." With that speech he manifested the firm intention of his administration to get the Americans to set foot on our satellite for the first time. On February 16, 2022, Josef Aschbacher, Director General of the European Space Agency (ESA) did something similar at the European Space Summit, held in Toulouse (France). “The time has come for a 'European ambition' for space. Here and now”, he declared since the French president, Manuel Macron, spoke about the importance of space exploration for Europe.
Because the current management of ESA does not want the old continent to be left out of the new space race, so it is demonstrating all possible opportunities to promote new goals.
A clear example is the new announcement of places for astronauts -including the first para-astronaut in history-, a process that only had to be carried out very often since 1978, the last one in 2008. member partners approve new objectives as ambitious as creating their own independent astronaut shuttle and take the first European to walk on the Moon, a fact to which Aschbacher dared to put a date: 2035. And the road would not end there, since later the trip of Europeans to Mars would have to be planted. Even further. Why not the promising moon of Saturn?
At the moment, only the United States, Russia and China are capable of sending their own manned ships into space. Until recently, Europe contracted tickets on the Russian Soyuz; However, since NASA signed a contract with SpaceX for its Crew Dragon to take its astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS), ESA has also opted for this means of transport. And although the messages so far have suggested that we would continue to buy our ticket to space from other countries or companies, the new directive - Aschbacher was appointed a year ago now - wants its own independent system.
“Why should Europe be removed from the group of countries that dominate human spaceflight on their own? Should we run the risk that Europe will be overtaken by more and more countries in the development of the next strategic and economic zones, outer space? "said the Director General of ESA during the same speech, who claimed a" political mandate of course”, is that “the ESA has mastered the technology”.
Thus, the head of the European space agency explained that he is improving a high-level advisory group on human space exploration as part of his project. A group made up mostly of experts from outside the sector, "to ensure independent and impartial advice to prepare decisions at the ESA Ministerial Conference in November this year and a follow-up Space Summit in 2023." Because their intentions will be worth nothing if the twenty countries that make up the space agency do not give their approval.
The 'Manifesto of European Astronauts'
After the summit, the ESA published the text 'Manifesto of the European astronauts', in which it is warned that the mistakes of the past in other strategic domains should not be repeated, "which did not make us depend on external actors for our energy requirements or development of information technologies. It also stresses that Europe remains a leader in areas such as Earth observation, navigation or space science, but has "a lagging position in the increasingly strategic domains of transportation and space exploration."
The next day, Frank De Winne, director of ESA's European Astronaut Center, said that politics is the first thing the agency must resolve, referring to support from member countries. “We hope to have that answer by the end of the year.” The big event will be the ministerial meeting, a meeting that will be held once every three years, and in which state members make decisions about which missions and programs will go forward and with what budget.
Once the show gets the go-ahead, it's time to think about the details. “Which launcher we will use is not decided. Should it be an Ariane 6 or should we do something different as well like our colleagues at NASA have done with SpaceX or with other companies?" De Winne confirmed. Because, at the moment, Europe has the alias of the French company Arianespace, which makes Ariane rockets. She has been responsible for, for example, creating the rocket that lifted the James Webb Space Telescope on its first leg of travel.
The 'Matoshino Manifesto'
Year before, the ESA published a text message, the 'Matoshinos Manifesto', in which it stipulated its plan to accelerate its space race. Basically, the letter points out three 'accelerators': use the spatial vision of the Earth to raise awareness about the state of our planet and its possible futures; help governments act decisively on crises facing Europe, from floods and storms to wildfires; and safeguard ESA astronauts and assets from interference from space debris and space weather.
It also points to two 'inspirers' “to strengthen European leadership in science, technological development and inspiration”: a sample return mission from the icy moon; and, precisely, the human exploration of space.
It is not the first time that Europe has thought about manned space flights. Starting in the 1980s, for example, the French space agency CNES began studies on the Hermes space plane, which was launched using the Ariane 5 rocket. and financing problems without a single craft being built.
And, currently, research is being carried out on manned missions in Europe. For example, a study presented at the 2021 Global Space Exploration Conference in St. Petersburg, Russia, looked at how the European Space Center in French Guiana could be converted to help launch spacecraft with people. More recently, the journal 'Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews' published a study exploring the feasibility of hibernation as a method for long space routes.
Likewise, the ESA was also involved in the Artemis Program: led by NASA, this 'new Apollo' is like an object in turn to bring men and the first woman to the lunar surface in this decade as a prelude to the human visit to Mars. “Three seats have already been secured through our participation in the construction of the Gateway. And if we can make more contributions to Artemis, that opens a door for European astronauts to set foot on the Moon”, said David Parker, director of human and robotics exploration at ESA, at a press conference a year ago.
"All we need is the support of decision-makers: give ESA the mandate to develop an ambitious roadmap for Europe's future in space exploration, together let us achieve what was previously 'impossible' - states its manifesto. The time to set sail is now."
