Europe has carried out many space exploration missions – to the Moon, Mars, Venus and Titan – both on its own and in partnership with other spacefaring nations.

With the announcement of the US “Vision for Space Exploration& #8221;, robotic and human exploration of the Moon, Mars and asteroids is once again on the agenda. China, India, Russia and Japan have already established strategies and launched missions to participate in this worldw

Europe must now decide how it wishes to participate in this enterprise in a manner commensurate with its economic, scientific and technological potential and experience.

The Air and Space Academy’s Exploration Working Group, comprising recognised experts in science, engineering and project management, was commissioned to analyse the worldwide situation and elaborate these recommendations concerning Europe’s possible role in this quest for new horizons.