Ministers from the 22 ESA member states and Canada will gather in Lucerne, Switzerland on 1-2 December to discuss future spending priorities for the ESA space programme.

ESA members fund a core programme of space activities but can also subscribe to optional programmes.

Before the meeting, each ESA directorate has drawn-up a list of priorities to be considered by ministers. In this second of a series of reports, we hear from ESA’s Operations Directorate on its proposals for the future, including plans to tackle space debris and the threat to Earth of Near Earth Objects.

This story includes an interview  in English with Ralph Densing, Director of Operations, ESA.