Aurora is part of Europe's strategy for space, endorsed by the European Union Council of Research and the ESA Council in 2001. This strategy calls for Europe to:

explore the solar system and the Universe
stimulate new technology
inspire the young people of Europe to take a greater interest in science and technology

As a result of this challenge, in 2001 ESA set up the Aurora Programme. The primary objective of Aurora is to create, and then implement, a European long-term plan for the robotic and human exploration of the solar system, with Mars, the Moon and the asteroids as the most likely targets.

A second objective is to search for life beyond the Earth. Future missions under the programme will carry sophisticated exobiology payloads to investigate the possibility of life forms existing on other worlds within the solar system.

ESA's Aurora Programme is one of the most exciting enterprises ever undertaken in Europe, an endeavour that will involve the best of European minds and industry.

We the undersigned want the United Kingdom to be involved in all phases of the European Space Agency's Aurora Programme.


From http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page297.asp

"The Prime Minister's Office accepts electronic petitions ... There are a few criteria petitions need to meet for them to be accepted as valid. They must contain:

A clear, brief statement of what people are indicating their agreement to by signing;

The full name and full postal addresses of each person who signs, e-mail addresses would also be helpful;

The petition should have a closing date and all signatures should be submitted all in one go after that date; and

The data should have been collected electronically."

We the undersigned want the United Kingdom to be involved in all phases of the European Space Agency's Aurora Programme.