The European Space Agency (ESA) is charting a bold course for the future, aiming to solidify Europe's position in space exploration through the "Explore 2040" initiative.

Josef Aschbacher, director-general of ESA, emphasized the need for Europe to increase its space activities during an Oct. 16 talk at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) 2024 in Milan. The agency is now building a strategy to define its future. One key pillar of this is exploration.

"We have a process with our Member States called Explore 2040, which is a perspective at the horizon of 2040 and where Europe can go," Daniel Neuenschwander, director of human and robotic exploration at ESA, said in Milan.