Space Exploration

The growing global ambition for space exploration will be realised through critical technology evolutions and breakthroughs. The UK must decide its role in these ambitions and set out its areas of focus for national technology development to support future space exploration capabilities. The objective of the Space Exploration Technology Roadmap is therefore to identify areas of existing strength and under-developed technologies to be used in future space exploration missions. The identification of the technologies referenced in this document was founded on the requirements needed to meet the ambitions of ESA Exploration Missions, opportunities within NASA Exploration Missions and the wider global space sector, including upcoming commercial opportunities.
This roadmap will guide UK Space Agency decision-making by focusing on technologies where UK-based academia and industry are leading or well-placed to lead. The roadmap supports the aims of the National Space Strategy to grow and level-up the space sector and put the UK at the forefront of pioneering research and development, and fits within the framework of civil capabilities announced in July 2023 as part of the National Space Strategy in Action. The UK Space Agency has utilised and built upon information in various publications and through consultation with stakeholders in identifying the selected technologies which are the most appropriate for the UK to focus on developing for the purposes of space exploration.

Since the dawn of the space era in 1957, space science and technology have enhanced our knowledge of Earth, atmosphere, and outer space. They have improved the quality of life for the human race. Our space vision for the next 50 years has to consolidate these benefits and expand them further to address crucial issues faced by humanity in energy, environment, water, and minerals. Above all, we have to keep upper most in our mind the need for an alternate habitat for the human race in our solar system. The crucial mission for the global space community is to realize a dramatic reduction in the cost of access to space.

The current phase of space exploration is coming to an end and nations are seeking the next step for space exploration. The decisions of the United States and its partners on the future of space exploration will determine the strategic situation in space. There are difficult issues to consider in moving ahead: the target of exploration beyond low earth orbit (LEO), the balance between manned and unmanned programs, the future of partnership and cooperation in space, and the ultimate fate of the ISS. How Western space powers answer these questions will decide both the pace and the future direction of exploration in space.