The European Space Agency (ESA) has approved a Matosinhos Manifesto to accelerate the use of space in Europe.

Matosinhos Manifesto

• At the Intermediate Ministerial Meeting that was held in Matosinhos, Portugal.
• The Council of Ministers unanimously adopted this resolution that lays down a vision for the continent in terms of maintaining and expanding its activities in space.
• The large-scale nature and fast pace of the climate crisis and other challenges means that no European nation will be able to effectively address them alone.

The manifesto defines three “accelerators” to further advance Europe’s space ambitions:

1. The first of these accelerators is for the ESA to start working towards the “Space for a Green Future”
2. The second accelerator is called “Rapid and Resilient Crisis Response” to support governments to act decisively on crises facing Europe, from flooding and storms to wildfires
3. The third accelerator mentioned in the resolution is “Protection of Space Assets”, whose objective is to safeguard ESA astronauts and assets from interference by space debris and space weather

A brief history of the ESA

• The ESA is an intergovernmental organization that was formed in 1975 with the aim of developing Europe’s space capabilities.
• The organization has 22 member states — Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.
• Slovenia, Latvia and Lithuania are Associate Members.

UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024

Attend Now