Söder doubles lunar investments: Bavaria starts space revolution!

Söder doubles lunar investments: Bavaria starts space revolution!

At the “Moon Summit” in Oberpfaffenhofen, Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder announced today that the financial resources for the future European lunar control center will be doubled. The decision involves an additional investment of 30 million euros, bringing the total amount planned for the expansion of the control center to 63 million euros. This could represent a significant development for the astronautical lunar missions planned for the next few years.

The lunar control center, officially known as the Human Exploration Control Center (HECC), will be built in Oberpfaffenhofen, where a control center for the international space station ISS is already located. Söder also announced that he wanted to persuade the federal government to increase financial resources in order to further advance the existing plans.

Collaboration in the Artemis program

As part of the Artemis program, which is being promoted by the US space agency NASA, there is a significant focus on returning humans to the moon. Söder emphasized the need for a permanent human presence on the moon, which should be achieved through international cooperation. Josef Aschbacher, Director General of the European Space Agency (ESA), highlighted that Europe will play a central role in this program. He calls for more independence for Europe in space travel and emphasizes the importance of taking one's own destiny into one's own hands.

The initiative is also supported by German astronauts such as Alexander Gerst and Matthias Maurer. Gerst emphasized the importance of exploring lunar craters and systematic exploration of the moon for future missions. The planned lunar control center will be developed evolutionary from the existing Columbus control center, which has been active in astronautical space travel for decades.

Detailed planning and cooperation

The signing of a declaration of intent by, among others, Dr. Josef Aschbacher, Dr. Markus Söder and Dr. Anke Pagels-Kerp signed, marks a further step in the cooperation between DLR, ESA and the Free State of Bavaria. The agreement aims to support astronautical missions to the Moon and the operation of the Lunar Gateway lunar orbital station. There are also plans to build a new building for the lunar control center, which will further develop the infrastructure and operational concepts for the lunar missions.

In summary, the initiative by Bavaria and the European space partners shows a clear direction for the coming years in which Europe wants to play a significant role in international space travel. Doubling investments is a decisive step in the right direction.

For more information on planned investments and developments in the lunar space program, see reporting by T Online and the DLR update on the planning of the European lunar control center here.