Revolution Space Report Presented to ESA
An Independent High-Level Advisory Group (HLAG) has presented the Revolution Space report ESA. The presentation was made to the 315th session of the ESA Council at ESA Headquarters in Paris on March 23.
"The Space Revolution report is a wake-up call for European leaders to act now and not miss this opportunity. ESA has the expertise and the ambition. Together with our innovative industry, ESA can make it happen.”
ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher.
In “Revolution Space: Europe’s Mission for Space Exploration”, the group argues that human space exploration is undergoing a revolution, which Europe cannot afford to miss.
“Countries and regions that will not secure their independent access to space and its autonomous use, will become strategically dependent and economically deprived of a major part of this value chain. Europe’s goal should be to capture one third of this future market,” the report states.
The HLAG, which includes leaders across industry, government, academia and civil society, was established in the summer of 2022 at the request of ESA’s Council. It was mandated to provide an independent and objective assessment on the geopolitical, economic and societal relevance of human and robotic space exploration for Europe, and recommended to ESA to ‘act visionary’, ‘act differently’ and ‘act now’ on space exploration.
Revolution Space Report says Europe Needs to Increase Space Investment
In the Revolution Space report, the HLAG notes that Europe has no independent human launch capacity and therefore relies on non-European partners to send humans to space, which is threatening its future as a credible actor on the global economic and geopolitical scene.
For this reason, the advisory group insists that Europe needs to significantly increase its investment in human exploration, and develop its own human spaceflight transportation capabilities to secure and foster the benefits of a booming space economy. The report covered human and robotic exploration which are both essential for an exploration strategy.
Meanwhile, the Revolution Space Report highlights the exponential growth of the total worth of the space economy, and contends that “the cost of inaction would far outweigh the necessary investment to establish Europe as a strong and independent space actor.”
The report suggests that greater investment in space exploration will help attract top talent, maintain excellence and unite Europe through a grand vision. It argues that greater autonomy in this area will make Europe a stronger and more attractive partner for international cooperation.
The advisory group also points out that Europe will have to adopt a new procurement model if it wants to make the most of this space revolution, allowing industry to innovate and flourish while cutting costs.
"The Space Revolution report is a wake-up call for European leaders to act now and not miss this opportunity. ESA has the expertise and the ambition. Together with our innovative industry, ESA can make it happen,” said ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher.
An ESA Council working group has been set up to review the recommendations of the Revolution Space report and prepare for the next Space Summit, which will be held in Sevilla, Spain, on 6 November 2023.
(Source: ESA news release. Images provided)