Europe's right stuff

摘要

When ministers from the member states of the European Space Agency (ESA) met in Berlin last week, they made a number of good decisions. They unexpectedly agreed to provide the agency with all of the 2.5% funding boost that it had requested for science missions. They also agreed to funds for additional missions for Mars surface exploration and Earth monitoring. All of this is welcome. Even more surprising, and equally welcome, is their decision not to spend money on the development of a new Russian-led space-plane, Clipper — a decision that surprised some observers but that should be seen as a smart move. Europe does not need the ability to launch humans into space, and should resist further attempts by Russia to solicit funds for it.