The US and Russia may have launched the space race, but Europe is very much there alongside the two giants. It boasts not just ESA astronauts, but also projects like the European Galileo and Copernicus satellites, plus established successes in navigation and Earth observation. The European space industry employs around a quarter of a million people and the continent manufactures a third of the world's satellites. Just before the pandemic struck, there was a funding boost of over €14 billion – but now concerns are being raised that Europe risks losing ground because of Covid-19.

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