ESA receives record budget of 22 billion euros
Europe commits to space: ESA member states have approved a record budget for the European Space Agency.
ESA Director Josef Aschbacher presents his budget proposal at the ESA Ministerial Conference 2025
(Image: Ph. Servent/ ESA)
Josef Aschbacher has received his record budget: The 23 member states, at their meeting of the European Space Agency (ESA), have granted the highest budget to date -- much to the delight of ESA Director Aschbacher.
Just under 22.1 billion euros will be available to ESA over the next three years. This was decided by the ESA Council at Ministerial Level conference, which took place in Bremen on November 26 and 27. With this, Aschbacher has practically achieved his demand. Normally, ESA members grant a smaller budget than proposed.
The current three-year budget, approved in 2022, was around 17 billion euros -- which was also a record. The upcoming one, according to ESA, is 32 percent higher, or 17 percent higher after adjusting for inflation.
Great Success for Europe
"This is a great success for Europe, and a really important moment for our autonomy and leadership in science and innovation," Aschbacher said. "In the face of a challenging geopolitical situation all the States contributing to the ESA budget, and indeed the European Commission, have put their faith in ESA to keep delivering programmes that will support European leadership in space, and help stretch our capabilities on Earth, in orbit, and into deep space."
The largest contributors are Germany, France, and Italy, with Germany providing the largest amount at 5.1 billion euros. Accordingly, ESA has committed that these three countries will also receive priority treatment in lunar missions: The first European on the moon is expected to come from Germany.
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How ESA will allocate the budget is not yet known. The agency will immediately begin developing plans and then announce and award corresponding contracts, Aschbacher announced.
(wpl)
