Mr. Antonio Rodotà

The development of powerful launchers and novel spacecraft is one method by which ESA operates. Another is by creative interaction with the national space agencies and aerospace industries in ESA’s 15 Member States. In an era when the US-Soviet space race of the Cold War has given way to worldwide cooperation in space, ESA speaks and acts for Europe on the global stage.

ESA’s successes over more than a quarter of a century have altered its role. When the Agency came into existence in 1975, there was a desperate need to catch up. An attempt to develop a launching rocket for Europe had ended in failure. Europe’s scientists already had a good multinational programme, but usually they had to rely on the Americans or the Russians to launch their space experiments or small satellites for them.

How different it all looks now! Through ESA’s programmes for launchers, science, telecommunications, Earth observation and manned spaceflight, Europe has demonstrated great competence. Space ventures and their applications have become normal everyday activities in the Member States of ESA. Europe’s space industries already employ 40 000 people directly and 250 000 indirectly, and these numbers can only grow.

So ESA is not just a technical organization but part of Europe’s economic and social fabric, and of its culture of knowledge and skill. To sustain this success in the 21st Century, the Member States continue to look to ESA for opportune and carefully conceived multinational space projects and for help in improving their industrial competitiveness. ESA also coordinates the broad thinking needed to meet new challenges - some of which are described in the next section.
 
 

Galileo system

Ten challenges for Europe in Space
 
“Any list of challenges demanding our strategic attention is only ‘for example’,” says Antonio Rodotà, Director General of the European Space Agency. “We are still just at the dawn of the Space Age and I consider ESA’s remit to be limited only by the human imagination.”

Navigation satellites Space navigation systems are indispensable for science and industry, and even cars are beginning to use them. But in critical areas such as air travel, applications are restricted because the existing American and Russian systems are under military control. The operators deliberately degrade the services during a crisis. Dismay about this state of affairs has been expressed by the European Union. In response, ESA is now urgently creating the civilian navigation satellites needed for European autonomy.

Easier spaceflight Present methods of launching satellites, astronauts and supplies into space, with conventional chemical rockets, are cumbersome. They are also time-consuming and expensive. So while ESA continues to sponsor improvements to the Ariane series of launching rockets, and a new small launcher called Vega, the Agency and Europe’s space industry are alert to radical long-term possibilities, notably for reusable launchers. They might, for example, take off and land horizontally. When in orbit, spacecraft will have other new methods of propulsion. These include solar-electric engines already under development by ESA, and perhaps even the use of the solar wind to push interplanetary spacecraft along.

Nanosatellites The first US satellite Explorer 1 (1958) weighed only 8 kg yet it discovered the Earth’s radiation belt with a simple Geiger counter. Spacecraft of hundreds or thousands of kilogrammes later became normal, but now there is interest in small but very clever machines of less than 10 kg. Europe’s first nanosatellite, developed by a UK university, went into space in June 2000. SNAP-1 weighs 7 kg and takes advantage of four decades of progress in micro-electronic and micro-mechanical technologies since Explorer 1. Whether as single spacecraft for quick inexpensive missions, or Earth-observing swarms, the nanosatellites offer small countries, and small companies or institutes, a chance to compete with the aerospace giants.

Market share The dramatic success of Europe’s Ariane rockets in capturing a large part of the market in commercial launches of satellites has not been matched in the manufacture and sale of satellites for commercial purposes. Non-European telecommunications services, for example, still prefer American suppliers. The US space industry benefits from large public funding and technological stimulation from the military space sector, which is relatively small in Europe. ESA is looking for more effective and urgent ways of supporting Europe’s commercial space industry, for example by demonstrating new technologies in small, quick experiments in space.

Climate control Intense diplomatic efforts are now pursuing worldwide policies to moderate climate change. ESA’s satellites for Earth observation and research will help to verify the scientific basis of these policies and to check up on their implementation and results. Even so, changes of climate are likely to occur, whether human incurred or natural. In the long run, space technology could provide ways of regulating the weather, for example with huge reflectors in orbit that could reduce or increase the sunshine reaching selected zones. Europe needs to be au courant with the relevant technologies and alert to the complex political and legal questions that they raise.

 
 
Cosmic impacts In 1996 the Council of Europe called for greater effort to detect “asteroids and comets potentially dangerous to humankind”. Impacts of asteroids and comets have caused regional and global disasters in the past, and the search is on for inconspicuous objects in potentially dangerous orbits. ESA sponsors Spaceguard (Rome) which coordinates 80 asteroid-hunting centres worldwide. Rosetta, the ESA science spacecraft, will give a better understanding of the physical nature of the threat. Two projects under study by ESA promise to be excellent asteroid hunters: BepiColombo, which is intended to go to the heart of the solar system to examine the planet Mercury; and GAIA, a new star-mapping spacecraft.

Tricky tasks Many of the relatively easy projects in space have already been done, and new discoveries and applications often require new space technologies. For example, both Earth and space scientists want satellites that can automatically correct for non-gravitational forces, whether air drag from the Earth’s outer atmosphere or the pressure of sunlight in deep space. The use of laser beams over long ranges is another tricky technology with important applications, notably in the LISA project now under study by ESA for the detection of an expected trembling of space, using spacecraft separated by 5 million kilometres. Strategic questions arise about when such difficult projects should be pursued by Europe independently, and when in a global collaboration.

Raw materials and energy in space The Moon and the asteroids are rich in materials that could in principle be quarried for manufacture or to produce oxygen and water. The difficulties of working in space are partly offset by the weak gravity of such bodies, compared with the Earth’s. In the long run, large space stations or interstellar rockets, for example, might be more easily built in a low-gravity environment. ESA encourages Europe’s engineers and scientists to think along these lines, and also to keep under review the possibility of supplying the Earth with clean energy from space. Another long-term idea is that stations in orbit might generate power from sunlight or the natural electricity of the space environment, and beam it to the ground.

 
 

Claude Nicollier repairing Hubble

Robots or astronauts? A memorable mission in 1993 to repair the defective NASA-ESA Hubble Space Telescope, in which the ESA astronaut Claude Nicollier took part, helped to silence the critics of manned spaceflight. Even so, unmanned spacecraft and robots grow cleverer every year, without the life-support system or the return ticket to Earth that a human being needs. Judging the respective roles of robots and astronauts in space stations, Moon bases or the exploration of Mars is therefore a delicate strategic issue for space planners. ESA is fully committed to manned spaceflight in the International Space Station, but its development for the same project of a robotic arm and an automated transfer vehicle illustrate an even-handed support for the robots. Meanwhile ESA’s science programme develops robotic spacecraft capable of complex operations under autonomous control, far from the Earth.

Staying in front Even while Ariane 4 was proving its success as the launcher of the 1990s, ESA was already developing the more powerful Ariane 5. An upgraded Ariane 5, capable of lifting 9.5 tonnes into orbit, is ready for launch and will be followed in 2006 by an Ariane-5 launcher capable of carrying 12 tonnes into geostationary orbit.

Where engineering teams exist, with an excellent record of achievement, it makes sense to continue to work in a certain direction, to retain a lead. Similarly science teams can play their strong suits in selected areas. For example, ESA’s very successful infrared space observatory ISO (1995) is followed by the kindred FIRST and Planck projects (2007). A challenge for Europe is to judge shrewdly when to consolidate such existing lines of work, and when to branch out in a new direction may be the better way of staying in front.

 
 

Europe's access to space

After 27 years of success
 
“Let’s say so far, so good,” comments Antonio Rodotà, ESA’s Director General. “But ESA’s pioneers were individual engineers and scientists of tremendous imagination and drive. We need exactly the same talents if we want to do as well as they did.”

The European Space Agency began work in 1975. It was invented two years earlier at a meeting of ministers from 10 European countries, to combine the aims of the former European Launcher Development Organisation and the European Space Research Organisation, both dating from the early 1960s. At present ESA has 15 Member States in Europe, plus Canada as a Cooperating State.

During its first 27 years, ESA has raised Europe’s status from a minor to a major player, with a high degree of self-sufficiency in most aspects of space technology and a capacity for innovations of world class. The turning point came in 1986 when ESA’s Giotto spacecraft, built by Europe’s industry, carrying the instruments of Europe’s scientists and launched by Europe’s rocket, made the most daring visit to Halley’s Comet attempted by any of the world’s space agencies.

Here are some highlights from ESA’s accomplishments.

• Ariane rockets developed by ESA now command the commercial market in space launches, especially for communications satellites, despite intense competition from the USA, Russia, China and Japan. This is now a billion-Euro industry.
• Global standards for the present generation of telecommunications satellites are based on techniques demonstrated by ESA, and over 50 telecom satellites have been built by European aerospace companies - another billion-Euro industry.
• ESA leads the world in monitoring the ozone hole, ice sheets, ocean winds and currents, and other health checks for our planet. Meteosat and MSG, which provide the familiar daily films of the weather in Europe and Africa, were also developed by ESA.
• Scientific spacecraft built by ESA have achieved a leading role in the study of the Sun and its effects on the Earth, in investigating comets, in mapping the stars from space, and in unveiling the Universe by infrared light and X-rays.
• ESA’s own astronauts have flown in space in 12 US Shuttle missions and spent several sojourns on the Russian space station Mir. They have also taken part in four missions to the International Space Station, to which ESA contributes as a full partner.

Huygens parachutes onto Titan

Here are the spacecraft of the European Space Agency that are either operational now or due for launch before the end of 2004 - in approximate order of launch and representing more than 20 projects in all. Fuller information about these, and about previous and later projects, is available on this web site.

Hubble Space Telescope (NASA & ESA) 1990
Europe’s astronomers benefit from guaranteed use of this famous visible-light space telescope, thanks to ESA’s partnership and practical contributions to the project.

Ulysses (ESA & NASA, built in Europe) 1990
The first spacecraft ever to fly over the poles of the Sun has transformed the scientists’ knowledge of the solar wind and its magnetism, which fill the space around us.

ERS-2 1995
While continuing the acclaimed work of ERS-1 in examining the Earth by radar, microwaves and infrared light, ERS-2 carries a new instrument to observe the ozone hole.

SOHO (ESA & NASA, built in Europe) 1995
The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory has made many discoveries about the Sun’s interior and explosive atmosphere, and it monitors solar storms 24 hours a day.

Huygens (ESA’s contribution to the NASA Cassini mission) 1997.
In November 2004, Huygens will parachute through the hazy atmosphere of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, and reveal the chemical secrets of this strange alien world.

XMM-Newton 1999
Three amazing telescopes, each with 58 carefully shaped mirrors nesting inside one another, make this the most sensitive space observatory ever built for X-ray astronomy.

Cluster (ESA & NASA, built in Europe) 2000
Four satellites operating in company give an unprecedented 3-D view of the battle between the solar wind and the Earth’s magnetic field, and accompanying space storms.

Artemis (ESA and Japan) 2001
This innovative telecommunications satellite will demonstrate direct links to mobile users on the ground, gather data from other satellites by laser beams, and broadcast navigation information for EGNOS (see below).

Envisat 2002
Europe’s newest remote-sensing satellite, launched in spring 2002, is watching over the Earth with advanced versions of instruments used in ERS-2, and with several important new ones.

Integral 2002
XMM-Newton’s sister uses its own ingenious telescopes and sensitive detectors to observe the gamma-rays coming from very violent events in cosmic space.

MSG-1 (ESA & Eumetsat) 2002 and MSG-2 about 18 months later
The Meteosat Second Generation satellites will give far sharper weather information than that from the Meteosats, which have operated over the Equator since 1977.

SMART-1 2003
This small experimental spacecraft will demonstrate the use of solar-electric propulsion and carry a set of scientific instruments to inspect the Moon.

Rosetta (ESA, plus German/French-led lander) 2003
Rosetta will fly in company with a comet for many months, observing it from a close orbit and depositing a lander on its surface.

Mars Express (ESA, plus UK-led lander) 2003
During the most detailed scrutiny of the Red Planet yet attempted, Mars Express will look for hidden water or ice, and drop a lander sensitive to signs of life.

CryoSat 2003
As the first of ESA’s new Earth Explorer series, CryoSat will use twin radars to chart changes in the world’s ice sheets and sea ice more accurately than ever before.

METOP-1 (ESA & Eumetsat) 2003
While Meteosat and MSG observe the weather from above the Equator, METOP will fly over the poles, with advanced instruments for sounding the atmosphere.

Automated Transfer Vehicle 2004
This ingenious ferry will carry cargo to the International Space Station, dock there automatically, correct the station’s orbit, and finish as an incinerator.

European Robotic Arm 2004
This is one of ESA’s contributions to the International Space Station, intended for mounting on the Russian module but useful for European projects on the station.

EGNOS in service by 2004
The European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service will use payloads on three geostationary satellites and a network of ground stations to make US and Russian navigation systems more accurate and reliable.

Galileo 2004-2008
The first few satellites of Europe’s own navigation system, Galileo, are due to become available in 2006 while the full constellation of 30 satellites will be operational by 2008.

Columbus 2004
ESA’s largest piece for the International Space Station is a cylindrical laboratory 6.7 metres long, where astronauts will supervise hundreds of experiments every year.
 
 

Main Control Room at ESOC

ESA's geography
 
“Travel to any of ESA’s centres and you’ll find teams of experts from various nations working successfully together on tough projects,” says Antonio Rodotà, Director General. “Please don’t forget how amazing that is. Their grandparents were shooting at one another.”

Europe is a patchwork of relatively small countries. Its warlike past horrifies historians and its diversity of cultures delights the tourist. From the Greek philosophers to the Industrial Revolution and beyond, this small continent often led the way in the arts, sciences and exploration, and in technology too.

In the latter part of the 20th Century, even before politicians moved towards economic union, scientists in Western Europe reasoned that some expensive facilities needed for cutting-edge research were beyond the science budgets of individual nations. The first 'big science' collaboration was for particle physics in Geneva (CERN, 1953). The second was the European Space Research Organisation (ESRO, 1962) headquartered in Paris - which was one of the precursors of the European Space Agency (ESA, 1975).

The 10 founding members of ESA included the largest Western European countries: France, Germany, Italy, Spain and UK, together with Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland. Five others joined later: Ireland, Austria, Norway, Finland and Portugal. Canada is a Cooperating State.

Most Member States also belong to the European Union, but some do not. Conversely, some members of the EU do not yet belong to ESA. The two bodies are independent of each other, but they interact constructively in evolving space policies for Europe. There is cross-membership also in the Council of Europe, and in CERN and the European Southern Observatory with which ESA has close scientific ties. The diversity of ESA’s Member States remains a source of vitality and versatility, with each country bringing to the club its own scientific traditions, technological skills, political priorities and cultural style.

Whenever a new ESA spacecraft goes into orbit, a thousand men and women in factories and laboratories across the continent jump for joy, and boast in their many languages, “We helped to build that!”. In the case of XMM-Newton (1999) for example, components and scientific instruments came from 14 European countries. They all fitted, and they all worked. The key technology of the multi-mirror X-ray telescopes came from a small town in rural Lombardy.

Europe’s aerospace industry, which provides the means for accomplishing ESA goals, is itself evolving rapidly on multinational lines. Companies that were formerly flag-carriers for their respective countries have formed large cross-border companies. These mergers create a new geography for ESA’s policy of seeking competitive tenders and awarding contracts in Member States proportionate to their contributions to the budget. ESA’s policy helps to ensure that the smaller Member States and small companies are not eclipsed by the larger countries and the aerospace giants.

ESA’s own establishments and ground stations are scattered around Europe, with outposts further afield.

ESA (European Space Agency headquarters) Paris, France. Here meetings of ministers, officials or technical experts from the Member States thrash out big decisions, which the Director General and his senior management give advice about, and then implement. The directors of ESA’s programmes for science, applications, Earth observation and launchers are based in Paris, as well as officials responsible for strategy, technological policy, finance and administration.

ESTEC (European Space Research and Technology Centre) Noordwijk, The Netherlands. As ESA’s biggest establishment, ESTEC is its technical interface with European industry and the scientific community. Teams of engineers and scientists study proposals and oversee the development of spacecraft. ESA’s space science and earth science departments are located here, and so is the directorate of human spaceflight. ESTEC has its own technological laboratories, and extensive facilities for testing spacecraft and components under the stresses they will face during launch and in space.

ESOC (European Space Operations Centre) Darmstadt, Germany. This is mission control for most ESA space projects and it typically juggles half a dozen at a time via a worldwide network of tracking stations. During project planning, ESOC advises on the orbits and ground links. The use of Meteosat images for weather forecasting and climate research began at ESOC, until Eumetsat opened for business across the road. Hazards of space debris - the many thousands of fragments of space hardware that orbit the Earth - are also ESOC’s concern.

ESRIN Frascati, Italy. Here is ESA’s main centre for Earth observation, harvesting images and data from ESA’s own ERS-2 satellite and Envisat, and pooling them with observations from the French-led SPOT series and from American, Russian and Japanese satellites. This task requires data processing on a huge scale. ESRIN is also the information systems centre for ESA and the channel for public information about ESA on the World Wide Web - including the pages you are reading now!

EAC (European Astronaut Centre) Cologne, Germany. ESA’s corps of astronauts, 16 strong and from seven Member States, is based here. Since 1990 EAC has provided training and medical support to ESA astronauts on the ground and during a series of space missions. In future, EAC’s facilities will serve not only ESA’s own astronauts but also those from other parts of the world who will become involved with ESA’s elements in the International Space Station, including the Columbus laboratory.

Europe's spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Created and operated by the French space agency CNES, Europe’s spaceport was vastly enlarged under ESA sponsorship for Ariane launches, both developmental and commercial. CSG is perfectly located on the northern coast of South America for safe launches over the Atlantic Ocean. It also takes advantage of the Earth’s rotation near the Equator to gain 10% or more in liftable satellite mass compared with the American spaceport at Cape Canaveral.

Ground stations at Salmijärvi (near Kiruna) in Sweden, Redu in Belgium, Villafranca Del Castillo in Spain and Kourou, French Guiana. The high-latitude station at Salmijärvi near Kiruna works with ESA’s polar-orbiting Earth observation satellites, while Redu operates mainly with telecommunications satellites over the Equator. Villafranca is noted for its work with ESA’s astronomical satellites (currently XMM-Newton) and accommodates scientists who plan the observations, and process and archive the results. The Kourou ground station’s primary role is to interact with satellites soon after launch. ESA also has the use of a tracking station in Perth, Australia, and access to other people’s stations worldwide, as the missions require.

Other outposts ESA staff members are assigned to operational centres of the ESA-NASA Ulysses and SOHO missions at NASA JPL, California, and NASA Goddard, Maryland, respectively, and to the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. The European Coordinating Facility for the NASA-ESA Hubble Space Telescope and the Next Generation Space Telescope is located in the European Southern Observatory’s headquarters at Garching in Germany. ESA maintains permanent liaison offices in Brussels, Toulouse, Washington DC and Moscow.
 
 

ERS-2/GOME map of ozone thinning over Europe

Serving Europe and its citizens
 
“My personal crusade is on behalf of people,” says Antonio Rodotà, Director General of ESA. “I want to be sure that Europe’s space projects deliver clear benefits for the taxpayers who make them possible.”

It is fashionable to prefer private to public investment in new enterprises, yet paradoxically the public spending in support of space technology in private industry is greatest in the American citadel of capitalism. Although Europe’s population and gross economic product are larger than the USA’s, its expenditures on space research and technology remain much smaller. For some Europeans, space is an extravagance, irrelevant to the real problems of the world. Even when there is enthusiasm for space, and recognition of potential profitability, it has to compete with all other uses of public money, including excellent ground-based science and technology.

In a democratic continent, the European Space Agency defers to decisions by representatives of the elected governments of its Member States. But space projects typically mature over periods longer than governments last. As the source of vision and strategies for concerted European efforts, ESA would fail in its duty if it did not repeatedly explain the case for space and for its own activities.

A distinction might be drawn between ESA’s 'mandatory' space science programme and general services, for which all Member States must pay in proportion to their national wealth, and the much larger part of ESA’s budget going into 'optional' programmes where countries contribute whatever they choose - in some cases, nothing. But the overlap and continuity between both kinds of programmes mean that it is easier to summarize ESA’s benefits to Europe in a single list.

Benefits for people
Practical gains that Europe’s citizens can expect from ESA’s programmes include better weather forecasts, smarter personal telecommunications and surer space navigation.

Public spending through ESA on pollution control, disaster monitoring and relief operations, search and rescue, etc. goes well beyond the scope of private enterprise.

Space exploration is exciting, and ESA is redoubling its efforts to ensure that the public can share in the adventures, through the press, TV and the World Wide Web.

Space also has immense educational value, in stretching young imaginations and perhaps encouraging students to learn more about physics and engineering.

Everyone wonders about his or her place in space and time, and our kinship with the Universe, which ESA’s space science missions are doing much to illuminate.

Environmental benefits
People in Europe and everywhere else want to safeguard the global environment, and ESA’s major programmes for watching over the Earth from space are simply indispensable.

ESA’s new Earth Explorer programme will help to fill the gaps in knowledge about global change, where cleverer spacecraft are need to gauge cause and effect properly.

The Sun, which powers the Earth’s environment, and its storms that affect our technological systems and perhaps even the weather, are a primary focus of ESA’s space science.

Deeper understanding of the Earth’s unique qualities as an abode of life is coming from comparisons with other planets, in which ESA now plays a significant part.

Amid growing public and political awareness of the threat from cosmic impacts, ESA backs projects for both ground-based and space-based searches for jaywalking asteroids.

At Europe’s service

ESA meets perceived needs, whether for space missions chosen by Europe’s scientific community, or autonomous space navigation requested by the European Union.

All of ESA’s projects and programmes evolve from free-ranging interactions with technical experts from across the continent, and with manufacturers and potential users.

New Eurocompanies take over applications pioneered by ESA, most notably Arianespace for launches, Eutelsat for telecommunications and Eumetsat for weather satellites.

Close relationships with the national space agencies of the Member States, which have their own priorities and projects, bring many mutual benefits and exchanges of ideas.

ESA participates at every stage in the effort by the European Commission’s Space Coordination Group to map out a coherent future strategy and policy for space.

The European Southern Observatory, CERN (Europe’s particle physics laboratory) and the European Science Foundation all have fruitful links with ESA’s science programme.

Aid agencies of Member States and the European Union, and the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs, appreciate ESA’s active help in bringing benefits from space to developing countries.

Economic and technological benefits

ESA stimulates and supports pre-competitive innovation in European space industries, and creates new markets and new jobs, with a view to commercial prosperity on the global stage.

Most of the contributions by Member States to ESA’s budget go straight back to them in the form of contracts awarded to their industries - and so protect or create jobs.

All ESA space projects are innovative, and the most difficult science projects in particular help to push back the boundaries of skill in Europe’s space technology.

Contractual policies of ESA promote close cross-border cooperation among Europe’s industries, while at the same time ensuring competition, contract by contract.

A special initiative makes access to ESA programmes easier for small and medium-sized enterprises, with priority for innovative, high-technology firms linked to universities.

ESA and its industrial contractors actively promote technological spin-off from space to the ground - for example, finding hidden landmines with a radar devised for exploring Mars.

Cultural and political benefits

Space exploration is as much a part of the cultural and political scene as oceanic exploration was 400 years ago, and Europe has chosen to be a participant, not a bystander.

Through ESA the Member States have done far more to explore space, and to use it for practical purposes, than most of them could or would have attempted on their own.

ESA’s activities help to avoid a disastrous brain drain of scientific and engineering talent to other parts of the world with active space programmes.

Space exploration is a great re-unifier of human knowledge and skills, countering a tendency to over-specialization with projects that are inherently multidisciplinary.

The most important political aspect is the wish to preserve peace in space, and ESA’s commitment to that aim is described in the closing section.
 
 

International Space Station

Exclusively peaceful purposes
 
GGZM2D3K “During this century the human species will make stupendous choices about the uses of space and the whole solar system,” says Antonio Rodotà, ESA’s Director General. “We have to be strong enough to be sure that Europe is in the room when the decisions are taken.”

Space exploration began as an intense competition between the Soviet Union and the USA for command of the high ground during the Cold War. Military surveillance satellites were being designed even before the first Sputnik flew in 1957. Missiles for carrying nuclear weapons were adapted into launching rockets. Achievements in civilian space science, lunar exploration, Earth observation and telecommunications were largely spin-offs from military programmes or the superpowers’ wish to demonstrate superiority in space technology. The Cold War and the Space Race culminated in “Star Wars”, the US Strategic Defense Initiative of the 1980s, intended to destroy nuclear missiles in flight.

Such was the world into which the European Space Agency was born, and the promise in its convention to promote cooperation in space for “exclusively peaceful purposes” had a louder ring in the 1970s than it does now. But it would be naïve to imagine that the conclusion of the Cold War put an end to military uses of space. The USA, Russia, China and some Member States of ESA itself continue with important military programmes.

The more valuable space appears to be, the greater the potential for conflict. An attack on a key satellite might provoke a war on the ground. The nightmare scenario is an extension into interplanetary space of the naval wars, and the competition for territory, resources and strategic advantage, that raged across the Earth’s oceans from the 16th to the 20th Century. More benign in intention, but not to be adopted lightly, is the proposal that powerful nuclear weapons should be deployed in space to deflect or fragment an asteroid heading for a collision with the Earth.

ESA’s multinational character and its binding commitment to peaceful activities give it a special place among the world’s space agencies. One way to try to avert conflict in space is to promote global collaboration in civilian space activities. ESA engages in bilateral cooperation with other agencies in so many individual space missions that it needs permanent offices in Washington and Moscow - space embassies, in effect.

During the Cold War, ESA promoted a four-way exchange with the American, Soviet and Japanese space agencies, in the Inter-Agency Consultative Group for Space Sciences, instituted in Padua, Italy, in 1981. Its first task was to coordinate observations from the five spacecraft intercepting Halley’s Comet in 1986. Currently there is intensive collaboration in a second inter-agency programme, on solar-terrestrial science. In 1999 a third theme emerged: the further exploration of comets and asteroids. ESA also participates in the International Space Station, which can be seen as a multi-agency celebration of the end of the Cold War in space.

A framework of international space law exists, to moderate militarization and minimize arguments about civilian uses of space. Included are an Outer Space Treaty, a Moon Treaty, a series of UN Resolutions and Principles, and a growing body of case law. In 1989 ESA created the European Centre for Space Law to improve research, education and practice in this increasingly important and complex aspect of international relations.

The strength of ESA’s voice in space diplomacy depends on its level of practical commitment to topics under discussion. The planet Mars is a case in point. Issues will arise about the safety of bringing martian samples back to Earth, and about establishing manned stations on the martian surface versus treating the Red Planet as a nature reserve. Hitherto, only the USA and to a lesser extent Russia have sent exploratory spacecraft to Mars. A new era will begin when ESA’s Mars Express goes there in 2003. If it makes the remarkable contributions expected, to an international programme for scientific exploration of the planet, Mars Express will give ESA greater authority to debate martian issues on behalf of Europe.
 
 
Last update: 18 June 2004