The Council of Ministers has approved an agreement by which the Ministry of Science and Innovation will increase by 20% the Spain’s contribution to the European Space Agency (ESA) by 2023, up to 300 million euros. Since 2019, the Government of Spain has increased its ESA contribution by 50%.
The minister of Science and Innovation, Diana Morant, has stressed that the ESA share “allows us to take part of the development of space missions and programs as important as the European Union’s Copernicus, an Earth observation system that contributes to the tracking and control of emergencies such as that of the La Palma volcano and fires.”
The minister has also pointed to the fact that, pursuant to ESA’s georeturn concept, “this investment will translate into more opportunities for the Spanish industry and companies of the Space sector in our country.” Morant also reminded that ESA has just approved the ARRAKIHS mission the first mission of the European Space Agency’s program to be led by Spain. Currently, Spain is the fourth-largest ESA contributor among European Union countries. The return rate in contracts for Spanish companies has been 106% in the last few years, which implies a 74 million euro surplus for Spain.
