MPs urge British government's approval for manned space missions
British MPs want the government to take an adventurous outlook for the country's space program, stating that Britain should aim for manned space missions in future.
Members of the Commons Science and Technology Committee tabled a report in which they criticized the government for the blanket ban imposed on manned space missions conducted by the country since they require huge amounts of investments.
The report said that instead of rejecting every proposal for a manned mission, the government should instead consider the pros and cons of each mission and given out approval for important mission.
"It appears that the Government currently objects to manned spaceflight on principle and we believe that this stance is unjustifiable. Manned spaceflight proposals, like other proposals in other areas of space, should be judged according to a cost-benefit analysis", the report, tabled by Science and Technology select committee, said.
While Britain is the largest contributor to the Aurora exploration carried out by the European Space Agency, the country is unwilling to participate in missions that involve sending humans in space.
So far only three nations, USA, China and Russia, have indigenous manned space programmes, with countries such as Germany, Belgium, Italy, France, Spain, Sweden, Brazil, Japan, Israel and the Netherlands pay money for joint space missions.
However Malcolm Wicks, the former science minister, does not agree with the report, stating that there is no need for human missions into space. "What the best evidence and the science tells us at the moment, is that man's/woman's exploration of space should not be a priority for the United Kingdom", he added.
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