Three years after the Lucerne Ministerial Council, the ministers of the Member States of the European Space Agency (ESA) will meet in Seville on 27 and 28 November to discuss the budget allocations for the various European space programmes, in particular the European Copernicus programme. The Seville Ministerial Council looks set to be less difficult than three years ago, with fewer open points.
Within the framework of the "Future EO" (Future Earth Observation) activities, ESA wants to capitalise as much as possible on European assets. "In the area of earth observation, Europe has the global leadership. And this is something unusual in the space sector", notes Josef Aschbacher, Director of the Earth Observation Programme at ESA, speaking to EUROPE, highlighting that this is the fastest growing segment of the space sector, with growth between 10 and 12% in 2018.
To this end, ESA is asking ministers for an envelope dedicated to earth observation of €2.4 billion at 2019 prices (out of a total envelope of €12.4 billion). "It’s a very good proposal and very attractive proposal but also quite significant: it’s one of the largest portfolios in ESA," commented Mr Aschbacher, noting that the effort required is significant compared to 2016, when the agency proposed an envelope of €1.5 to €1.6 billion.
"Of course, I hope that I will get almost 100% funding. But usually in a ministerial meeting, it’s quite unusual to get 100%, you get usually 95% - 90%", says the scientist, who hopes to obtain over 2 billion euros for the future of earth observation.
The aims have developed, in particular for the European flagship earth observation programme Copernicus, on which ESA is responsible for the development of the observation structure (and on which the European Commission is responsible for management).
Copernicus 4.0
According to Mr Aschbacher it is necessary to upgrade to Copernicus version 4.0 and take advantage of the data. The various missions currently assigned are based on decisions going back 15 years, and Mr Aschbacher stresses the need to support the new political priorities: migration, security, the African continent, the Arctic and above all climate change, in particular the development of a satellite for 2025 to monitor CO2 emissions.
"The Copernicus package which is on the table for the ministerial meeting is very much aligned with the European New Green Deal", Mr Aschbacher said, referring to the main priorities set by the President-elect of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. When questioned by EUROPE, Mr Aschbacher did not rule out the possibility of asking for funding from the European Investment Bank (EIB).
A digital twin earth
Mr Aschbacher welcomed the profile of the new Internal Market Commissioner, Frenchman Thierry Breton (whose former company is leading a DIAS platform - see EUROPE 12358/2), for his position on massive data processing, artificial intelligence and supercomputers.
According to Josef Aschbacher, it is essential that Europe equip itself with the necessary infrastructure to process the huge quantities of data generated by Copernicus (about 250 terabytes per day).
In this context, ESA wants to develop a work plan to 2022 with Mr Breton, to go beyond the current DIAS platform model and move to a much larger scale with the GAIA programme (Geo-AI-applications). To best explain the concept, it would be a kind of "digital twin" of the Earth.
Space launchers, asteroids, space debris and space exploration
Ministers will also be invited to take a position on programmes to limit space debris and clean up the Earth orbit (CleanSat, Space Servicing Vehicle). Discussions should not be too difficult.
The same is the case for the development of a programme to detect, monitor and even divert (with the Hera mission) potential Near-Earth Objects, although in 2016, the ESA proposal, Asteroid Impact Mission (AIM), did not receive the support of the Member States (see EUROPE 11682/13).
Ministers are also expected to agree on a series of scientific and space exploration missions, as well as on the main elements of the Lunar Orbital Platform - Gateway, a living module in lunar orbit, combined with the Orion service module, which will eventually shuttle between the earth and the living module. Objective: Mars, the 8th continent.
Finally, the discussion topic where the largest number of budget lines remain open concerns future European launchers: Ariane 6 and Vega C, at a time when Europe is facing fierce competition on the other side of the Atlantic and the emergence of reusable launchers. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)