Europe must be part of long-term exploration of moon and Mars – ESA

The comments come amid concerns that Europe is falling behind in the “space race” as countries like China, Japan and India ramp up their efforts to become space powers

The moon (Owen Humphreys/PA)

Europe must be part of humanity’s long-term exploration of the moon and Mars, a leading European Space Agency (ESA) official has said.

David Parker, who is director of human and robotic exploration at the ESA, said that one of the agency’s key goals is to ensure there is an European astronaut on the moon by the end of the decade.