Germany will send the first European astronaut to the Moon, according to Federal Research Minister Dorothee Bär. In negotiations with the European Space Agency ESA, the Federal Republic prevailed against claims from France and Italy, Bär said in the "Politico" news magazine podcast on Saturday.
It remains open whether astronaut Alexander Gerst or his colleague Matthias Maurer will fly the mission.
"We succeeded in ensuring that the first European to fly to the Moon will be a German," said Bär. In the negotiations with ESA, this was "really hard work," "because France and Italy also staked claims." Regarding the timeline for such a Moon mission, Bär said the year 2028 currently appears realistic.
The US space agency NASA is aiming for the year 2028 for the first manned landing on Earth's satellite in more than half a century. US astronauts last landed on the Moon in 1972 with Apollo 17. Recently, three US astronauts and a Canadian astronaut successfully orbited the Moon in preparation for the manned lunar mission.
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