Space science in good shape despite the crisis, says Esa official

European space science is “in good shape” despite the financial crisis and smaller budgets than in the US, Thomas Reiter, head of the European Space Agency's directorate of human spaceflight and operations, told Germany's international broadcaster Deutsche Welle.

He explained that the agency had only a fraction of Nasa’s annual budget but “Europe is very efficient, despite our many member states that have to approve our decision-making process.