The British minister will launch a compatriot in space

The new British Minister of Education Paul Dreyson (Paul Drayson) said that Britain should launch its astronauts into space, reports BBC News. According to the minister, this event would inspire the younger generation of Britons take up science. As explained newspaper The Times, the Minister did not rule out the possibility of participation in the Martian and lunar missions.

Currently, the European Space Agency (ESA) is conducting a set of astronauts to participate in the following missions, and the list of applicants included several British citizens. According to some analysts, the chances that the British get to the finals competition is not very high, since Britain last few years refused to invest large sums in development programs of manned space flights offered by ESA. The words of the Minister, many saw as a hint that British policy on development cooperation with European countries in the space industry can change.

Each year, Britain is investing in the development of space technologies around 200 million pounds (about nine billion rubles), but all the money going to develop a robotic probes and satellites. So far in outer space visited only four native Britain. Three of them changed their citizenship to the U.S. and flew missions in NASA. The only British, leave the Earth, was Helen Sharman (Helen Sharman). In 1991, she visited the Mir space station.

Paul Dreyson, made the state the development of biotechnology, was appointed minister of education last week. In 2007, he left the post in the Ministry of Defense. The official reason for dismissal was Dreysona intention to participate in road races 24 Hours of Le Mans. "