French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday called on Europe to strengthen its space sector to close the gap with the United States and China.

"Space Europe is still weak," he said during a discussion at the International Space Summit in Paris.

European-crewed spaceflight 

"We want Europe to assert its ambition in crewed spaceflight," he said. "Our European space program remains fragile and we must step up our efforts."

Macron said in two years, he wants to see the "first European cargo capsule, Nyx, dock with the International Space Station."

He added that in five years, he would like to see the first European lunar lander, Argonaut, "land on the Moon's surface."

"And in 10 years' time, I want to see the first European crewed capsule take off from Kourou with European astronauts and those from other nations on board."

Kourou, located in French Guiana, is home to the European Union's primary spaceport.

The French president also said Europe needs to reduce its dependence on US and Russian services. At the moment, Europe's space exploration relies on rockets and satellites from the United States and Russia for communication and surveillance.

'Passengers or pilots?' 

Although the the European Space Agency(ESA)  secured a record budget of over €22 billion in 2025 to cover programs for three years, it has never sent a crewed mission into space.

After Macron's speech, Josef Aschbacher, director general of the European Space Agency (ESA), remarked: "Are we passengers or pilots?"

The ESA head emphasized that countries around the world are rapidly developing space technology from the "critical infrastructure" of satellites to lunar exploration. 

"In this emerging context, Europe must position itself as an indispensable partner, with its own capabilities," he said. 

Aschbacher added that if Europe wants to achieve independence in space exploration, it must invest around €1 billion annually ($1.1 billion). 

"Dependency comes at a cost. The gap with world leaders in the space sector is widening, both financially and technologically."

Edited by: Wesley Rahn