European Space Agency member states last year approved a nearly 17 billion euro budget for space projects, and the money will be used across all areas of the industry, said Géraldine Naja, the agency’s Director of Commercialisation, Industry and Competitiveness.

At the ESA Council at Ministerial level held in Paris on 22 and 23 November, government ministers representing ESA’s Member States, Associate States and Cooperating States resolved to together strengthen Europe’s space ambitions, ensuring a continuous concerted effort to serve European citizens.

Ministers confirmed that Europe’s independent access to space is crucial to secure the benefits that space brings to life on Earth – including climate change monitoring and mitigation, secure communications and navigation under European control, and rapid and resilient responses to crises.

Future space exploration

By committing to future space exploration, Europe has also committed to advancing scientific understanding, fulfilling its potential and retaining its talent for generations to come. ESA is working to ensure that essential space-based services are secure, and that Earth’s orbital space is responsibly managed.

Commenting on the funding at the Space-Comm Expo 2023, Naja said: “We will focus those investments first of all on our traditional areas of excellence, and that is, for instance, Earth observation, monitoring climate change, and also observing the environment. Science: we have a huge range of science missions, to explore the solar system to understand the universe etc. And also infrastructure: infrastructure for launches, infrastructure for low Earth orbit. But we also have new priorities: and that is safety and security.”

European Space Agency

Naja took up duty as Director of Commercialisation, Industry and Procurement, based at ESA Headquarters in Paris, on 1 November 2021.

She is responsible for elaborating and implementing ESA’s industrial policy, the agency’s procurement rules and policies, and conducting negotiations and managing procurement for all activities and programmes, as well as enabling and boosting European space commercialisation ambitions through innovative tools.
Subscribe to the FINN weekly newsletter