Key facts
- Josef Aschbacher, ESA director general, said he would meet officials in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
- About 5% of the ESA's budget is linked to cooperation with the US, Aschbacher said.
- NASA and ESA joint projects scaled back or halted include Lunar Gateway and Mars Sample Return.
- Aschbacher said the ESA hopes to sign a framework agreement with the UAE over the longer term.
The director general of the European Space Agency, Josef Aschbacher, said he would hold meetings in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the UAE, as the bloc looks for partners beyond the United States for space exploration, in a report dated November 2. He told Reuters that Europe was "very exposed to the United States" in exploration and that European political leaders had called for more autonomy.
The ESA's cooperation with NASA has weakened after Washington scaled back or halted joint projects, including the Lunar Gateway lunar-orbit station and the Mars Sample Return mission. About 5% of the ESA budget is tied to cooperation with the US, Aschbacher said, and Europe relies on US providers to launch its astronauts.
Talks with the UAE include a possible lunar rover launch and Emirati participation in the EPIC programme, which would fly a crew to the International Space Station on a SpaceX spacecraft. Aschbacher said the ESA hopes to sign a framework agreement with the UAE over the longer term. He declined to discuss whether the UAE could invest in ESA projects and said European governments must first agree their own funding level. He said in September that Europe would need €10 billion ($11.2 billion) over 10 years for space autonomy.