This week, ESA member states declared that they will carry on with their ambitious space science and exploration plans—with or without the US.
ESA held a two-day council meeting this week—the first gathering of members since NASA announced its proposed budget and the last meeting before nations will come together in November to set agency funding for the next three years.
While ESA director general Josef Aschbacher urged calm, saying that NASA’s proposed budget is still up for debate among US policymakers, he also remained firm that European interests would be protected even in the worst-case scenario.
“We are doing our homework and analyzing what is the impact and what could be options and measures that we could take in order to make sure that investments that have been made by our member states are utilised in the best possible way,” Aschbacher said.
Depending on NASA’s funding decision, joint projects could be paused or redirected at the determination of ESA member states.
What’s at risk? ESA has ~19 missions with NASA—16 of which can continue on with European and international capabilities stepping in for US contributions, according to Carole Mundell, ESA’s director of science.
The missions that ESA would be unable to continue without NASA include
- The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), for which NASA had previously agreed to supply lasers, telescopes, and tech to reduce electromagnetic disturbances.
- Envision, a Venus-observing satellite, which was planning to use a NASA-developed SAR.
- The NewAthena X-Ray observatory, which depends on a NASA-built X-IFU sensor.
The result of these discussions is that ESA is more hardened than ever to improve its resiliency, autonomy, and partnerships with the rest of the world.
