欧洲航天局局长本周访海湾：欧洲寻求减少对美国太空依赖，拟与阿联酋签框架协议
阿布扎比，11 月 2 日——欧洲航天局局长约瑟夫·阿施巴赫本周将赴阿拉伯联合酋长国，在迪拜与阿布扎比会见官员。欧洲正寻求新的太空合作伙伴，以减少在太空探索上对美国的依赖。
据路透社 11 月 2 日报道，阿施巴赫说：「第一，我们应当加强自身能力，成为全球生态系统中更强的参与者，但仍利用这种实力与其他伙伴合作。」他说，欧洲在探索领域「非常暴露于美国」，欧洲政治领导人告诉他，欧洲需要「更多自主与更强实力」。美国太空探索技术公司SpaceX 的崛起，凸显了欧洲对美国太空技术的依赖。
欧洲航天局与美国国家航空航天局数十年的合作已经减弱：华盛顿缩减或叫停了一些共同项目，包括在月球轨道部署空间站的「月球门户」计划与火星样本返回任务。阿施巴赫说，欧洲航天局约5% 的预算与对美合作相关，欧洲在把宇航员送入太空方面也依赖美国供应商。
阿施巴赫说，从长远看，欧洲航天局希望与阿联酋签署框架协议。阿联酋 2020年发射了阿拉伯世界首个火星探测任务，运营多颗卫星，并通过宇航员计划把两名本国公民送入太空，但尚不能独立组织发射，也不拥有类似欧盟「伽利略」或美国全球定位系统的独立卫星导航系统。双方讨论的合作包括可能的月球车发射，以及一名阿联酋宇航员参加EPIC 计划、搭乘 SpaceX 飞船前往国际空间站。阿施巴赫还将参观法美初创企业 Loft Orbital 与阿布扎比支持的Marlan Space 的合资企业，该企业正在开发卫星星座；此前法国与阿联酋已同意深化两国战略防务协议。
被问及阿联酋能否投资与欧洲航天局合作的项目时，阿施巴赫拒绝讨论正在进行的谈判。他 9 月曾说，欧洲未来 10 年需要 100 亿欧元（约112 亿美元）来加强太空自主。他说，资金缺口可能与阿联酋讨论，但欧洲航天局首先需要欧洲各国政府就各自的出资水平达成一致：「一旦作出这一决定，我们将研究国际合作。」
（来源：路透社）
Europe Space Chief Heads to Gulf as Bloc Looks Beyond US: ESA Seeks Less Reliance on America, Eyes Framework Deal With UAE
ABU DHABI, November 2 — European Space Agency Director General Josef Aschbacher will meet officials in the United Arab Emirates this week, attending meetings in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, as Europe seeks new partners and aims to reduce its reliance on the United States for space exploration.
According to Reuters on November 2, Aschbacher said: "Number one, we should strengthen our capability, become a stronger player in the global ecosystem, but one that uses its strength to still work with other partners." He said Europe is "very exposed to the United States" in exploration and that European political leaders had told him the region needed "more autonomy and more strength." The rise of Elon Musk's SpaceX has laid bare Europe's reliance on American space technology.
The European Space Agency's decades-long cooperation with NASA has weakened after Washington scaled back or halted common projects, including the Lunar Gateway programme to deploy a space station in lunar orbit and the Mars Sample Return mission. Aschbacher said about 5 percent of the ESA's budget is linked to cooperation with the US, and Europe also relies on US providers to send its astronauts into space.
Aschbacher said that over the longer term, the ESA hopes to sign a framework agreement with the UAE, which launched the Arab world's first mission to Mars in 2020. The UAE operates several satellites and sent two of its nationals into space through its astronaut programme, but cannot yet organise launches on its own and does not own an independent satellite navigation system like the EU's Galileo or the US Global Positioning System. Discussions between the ESA and the UAE include a possible lunar rover launch and the potential participation of an Emirati astronaut in the EPIC programme, which would fly a crew to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX spacecraft. Aschbacher will also visit a joint venture between Franco-American startup Loft Orbital and Abu Dhabi-backed Marlan Space to develop a satellite constellation, after France and the UAE agreed to deepen a strategic defence agreement between the two countries.
Asked if the UAE could invest in projects in collaboration with the ESA, Aschbacher declined to discuss ongoing talks. He said in September that Europe would need 10 billion euros (11.2 billion US dollars) over the next 10 years to strengthen its autonomy in space. He said the funding gap may be discussed with the UAE but added that the ESA first needs European governments to agree on their own level of funding: "Once this decision is made, we will look into international cooperation."
(Source: Reuters)
来源：路透社
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：欧洲航天局局长约瑟夫·阿施巴赫。 ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher. CC BY-SA 4.0，图片来源：Wikimedia Commons。 CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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