Mars to get large bite of UK space mission cash

News

The UK has pledged almost £600 million to Europe’s space programme over the next four years, including future Mars missions and a variety of new satellite projects.

The UK has pledged almost 900m Euros (£600m) to Europe’s space programme over the next four years, including future Mars missions and a variety of new satellite projects.

The Aurora programme, which includes a number of missions to explore Mars, will receive 108m Euros towards its first, ExoMars. This will analyse the biological make-up of the planet in preparation for future human exploration, and aims to advance scientists’ understanding of exobiology — the search for life on other planets. ExoMars will require the development of a new Mars orbiter, a descent module and a rover vehicle.

In a decision eagerly awaited by the space technology industry, it was also announced that the UK is also to subscribe to the GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) programme.

Science minister Lord Sainsbury claimed the decision to contribute almost e9m to GMES was ‘a ground-breaking step in co-operation with the EC.’

Register now to continue reading

Thanks for visiting The Engineer. You’ve now reached your monthly limit of news stories. Register for free to unlock unlimited access to all of our news coverage, as well as premium content including opinion, in-depth features and special reports.  

Benefits of registering

  • In-depth insights and coverage of key emerging trends

  • Unrestricted access to special reports throughout the year

  • Daily technology news delivered straight to your inbox

Register
Or continue by

Signing in with your registered email address