Macron urges Europe crewed spaceflight within decade

French President Emmanuel Macron urged Europe on Thursday to develop its own crewed spaceflight capability within a decade, saying the continent's space programme remained fragile and needed more effort.

Speaking at an international space summit in Paris, Macron said he wanted Europe to assert its ambition in crewed spaceflight. Several US companies, including SpaceX and Blue Origin, did not attend the summit.

Macron set out milestones for the next 10 years. He said he wanted the European cargo capsule Nyx to dock with the International Space Station in two years, the European lunar lander Argonaut to reach the Moon's surface in five years and a European crewed capsule to launch from Kourou in French Guiana in 10 years with European and other astronauts on board.

Europe has sought greater independence in space but has never sent a crewed mission, relying instead on Russian and US rockets and capsules.

European Space Agency chief Josef Aschbacher also appealed to ministers and dignitaries for more resources to develop an independent European space sector. He pointed to rapid advances in satellite development and Moon and Mars exploration around the world and said Europe needed its own capabilities.

Aschbacher estimated the effort would require investment of around one billion euros per year for the next decade. He said buying flights for European astronauts from foreign providers would cost five billion euros over 10 years and would support foreign space sectors rather than Europe's jobs, technology and autonomy.

ESA member states are expected to meet at a ministerial meeting in December to decide how to move forward. Last year, ESA secured a record 22.1 billion euro budget to fund its programmes for the next three years.