The European Space Agency (ESA) hopes that the UK can contract in Brussels to participate in European Union (EU) funded ESA programs.
Although ESA is non-governmental and UK membership is not in question, some of the organisation’s programs are funded by the EU.
But for other projects, such as the Copernicus Earth observation program, the situation is a bit more complicated.
Copernicus is based on mixed grants where ESA pays for some satellites, while others are directly funded by the EU but implemented by ESA.
ESA director general Jan Woerner said: “Switzerland and Norway are not just in the UK.
“Switzerland and Norway have agreements with the EU and I hope that the UK will have future agreements with the EU, which will also allow us to forget about Brexit in the EU-paid programs.
“But right now, for those particular programs, there’s a particular problem.”
He was speaking after an ESA council meeting that appointed the new ESA director general and discussed issues including ESA space transport, space economy and Covid-19 impact analysis.
ESA has appointed Dr. Josef Aschbacher as its next director general and will succeed Professor Woerner, who expires on June 30, 2021.
Dr. Aschbacher is currently the director of ESA’s ground observation programs.
Commenting on what would happen if the UK did not participate in Copernicus, he said: “We hope that the UK will be able to join the program in Brussels, which is the basic choice and this is what we hope for. ”
Dr Aschbacher said if that was not possible, alternatives would need to be explored.
Professor Woerner also spoke about the scientific discoveries discussed at the council meeting.
He said: “Just to get into one thing, the past was a dark, ever-like cloud in the universe, a cloud that is something like 25% of the universe.
“That was the idea of a dark subject, and dark energy then another 70%.
“So Gunther Hasinger (ESA’s director of science) showed us that the latest study showed that a dark matter is not like a cloud, but more local.
“And this feeds the theory that a dark subject and black holes say at least brothers or sisters, if they are not even equal.
“This is a very interesting thing but it also covered the other messages – the campfires on the surface of the sun, and things like that, which were very interesting.”