European nations agree to boost space spending

PARIS: European nations agreed on Wednesday to boost their spending on space by 17% over coming years as competition intensifies with the United States and China, but failed to come up with a package being sought in talks overshadowed by war in Ukraine.

The European Space Agency said ministers from its 22 member states had agreed to provide 16.9 billion euros for projects from Mars exploration to climate research in 2023-25, up from 14.5 billion euros in the previous triennial budget period.