Germany May Go Lunar

At a space exploration conference in Berlin, leaders of the German space program announced they were considering putting an all-German probe into lunar orbit in 2012. Britain is considering a similar project.

Both Germany and Britain, of course, are members of the European Space Agency. Indeed, Germany is the ESA's second largest financial contributor. ESA policy, however, is focused on the exploration of Mars, along with possibly sending European astronauts to the Moon in cooperation with NASA's plans to estabkush a lunar base in the 2020s.

The space race between the United States and the Soviet Union was driven to a large degree by a strategy to enhance national prestige. The emerging space race, with the Moon again as the prize, involves Japan, China, India, possibly Germany, and possibly Great Britain. Brazil may also be lurking in the wings. A driver of the current race is also national prestige.