News

On 30 June 2020, the Cabinet Office of Japan released a new version of the Basic Plan on Space Policy to guide Japan´s space activities over the next decade. Our latest ESPI Report provides a comprehnsive assessment of Tokyo´s new strategy for space. 

On 20 July 2020, ESPI Senior Research Fellow Marco Aliberti was interviewed by France 24 on the successful launch of the first UAE Mars Mission.

The new report Space Venture Europe provides a complete overview of entrepreneurship and private investment trends in the European space sector based on indicators and statistics. With € 188 million invested privately in space start-ups in 2019, Europe confirms its position as a key actor of commercial space able to adapt and leverage new trends!

In June 2020, the United States published a new Defense Space Strategy, a document expected to be the basis of U.S. DoD activities in space for the next ten years. In line with previous statements, the DSS recognises space as a warfighting domain and contemplates the possibility of in-space military operations. However, its accusatory wording on China and Russia and quasi-exclusive interest on allies with relevant capabilities question U.S. ability to exercise leadership in coming years.

The COVID-19 crisis and the unprecedented economic shock that followed will leave a permanent mark on Europe and in the World. With regards to space, two aspects are particularly salient: the use of space to monitor and respond to the crisis, and its impacts on the sector. With this special report, ESPI aimed to provide an overview of the situation so far and to take stock of some lessons learnt and important questions for European space policy.

ESPInsights is a quarterly publication providing the reader with a synthetic overview of major developments in the global space sector on the covered period and embeds useful links to official documents, public reports, web articles or conference websites for further details on the topic.