The UK is a major partner in ESA's Aurora programme. Aurora sets out a strategy for long-term European involvement exploring our Solar System. The focus is on the Moon and Mars with robotic and, possibly, manned missions.
Up until now, few UK citizens have visited space although several NASA astronauts, such as Michael Foale and Piers Sellers, were born in Britain. The chances of a UK astronaut improved, however, in May 2008 when the European Space Agency (ESA) opened its recruitment of astronauts to all 17 member states, including the UK.
BNSC is currently reviewing Government policy on exploration of space using both robotic and crewed missions. So far, Britain has concentrated on building robotic explorers to send to distant worlds. UK scientists helped design and build the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn and a British-built sensor was the first part of the Huygens probe to touch down on Titan, the planet's largest moon.
The UK is also currently involved in robotic exploration of our nearest planet, Mars, as part of the planned ExoMars mission. UK scientist Tom Pike, from Imperial College London, is also a team member of NASA's successful Phoenix mission to Mars.
The UK has a world-leading expertise in sending scientific instruments up into Earth orbit and beyond. Missions leave Earth from various sites around the world on a range of launch vehicles.
These launchers are mostly designed to carry spacecraft, robots and instruments. Only two are licensed to take humans. Yet, some UK companies are now building spaceships to carry people into sub-orbital space, around 100 km above the Earth, as tourists.
