News item | 11-23-2022 | 5:00 PM
The government will invest 389 million euros up to and including 2025 in programs of the European Space Agency (ESA). That is 37% more compared to the previous registration. Dutch entrepreneurs and researchers can therefore fully work on space technology and its everyday applications. Space travel contributes to safe communication, navigation, precision agriculture, measuring and tackling emissions and water management. The Dutch investments were announced today at the Ministerial Conference of the 22 ESA member states in Paris, France.
Space technology has wide applications, provides more than 10,000 jobs in the Netherlands and is necessary for sustainability and digitization ambitions. The Dutch contribution, which will increase from 283.5 million euros (2020-2022) to 389 million euros (2023-2025), will mainly go to European space programs for technology development, new scientific insights, satellite applications that support the sustainability challenge and offer growth opportunities for entrepreneurs . Including national programmes, the Dutch space policy up to and including 2025 comprises more than 500 million euros in investments.
Dutch space applications
Dutch space travel makes a strong contribution worldwide. For example, the European service module of the NASA Orion capsule which is currently on the moon is powered by Dutch solar panels. The data from the Dutch satellite instrument Tropomi are crucial for monitoring the strong greenhouse gas methane. Thanks to the pledged contribution to ESA, the Netherlands can use and further develop its knowledge and skills for the construction of a satellite system that monitors greenhouse gas emissions even better and in more detail.
In addition, it is of great strategic European importance to be independent from others in order to put satellites into orbit around the earth. This is important because society is increasingly relying on information from satellites, for navigation, and for tackling major societal challenges in areas such as the environment, infrastructure and safety.