Some commentators argue that in times of global economic uncertainty governments should be boosting flagging economies by investing in major infrastructure projects. Many people are of the opinion that governments should grasp the opportunities presented to tackle global climate change at the same time as stimulating the economy, by using this public sector investment to move towards a new low-carbon infrastructure which would be an effective way of reducing carbon emissions and of ensuring security of energy supplies. They claim investment is needed in projects like renewable energy generation, modernising buildings to be more energy efficient, improving transport networks and even building pipelines to carry captured CO2 to undersea storage facilities. They acknowledge, however, that the political will has to be found and that this has to be done on a global level if positive results are to be realised

Britain is still firmly committed to the EXOMars Robot project even though the scope and the cost have grown in the three years since it was first initiated. The shape of the project has changed dramatically, mainly due to the increased expectations of scientists. According to the ESA, this change in direction justifies the almost doubling of the original budget. The increased cost will, however, have to be met by the participating countries that originally signed up to fund this program. Both Italy, the project leader, which provided much of the initial program funding, and Britain, will have to significantly increase their share of funding for this project. Britain considers that this project makes the most of its expertise in robotics. To date Britain has not been involved in other high-profile ESA program such as the Columbus science laboratory and the Ariane Rocket project. The ESA now hopes to send the robot to Mars in 2016.

The European Space Agency (ESA) is the body which decides the scope and direction of European space initiatives. It is funded by its participating states, currently 18 in number. Each contributes according to its own economic power. The body controls the funding of existing activities such as the planar rocket and space station projects but is also responsible for the initiation of new projects like a new generation of weather satellites. Some of the programs are compulsory but others are not and member states are free to choose in which of the latter they will become involved. There is a direct correlation between the amount of money that a state agrees to invest in a program and the amount of benefit it can expect in return through contracts awarded to its domestic space industry. ESA directors are keen to maintain a high level of funding from its member states even in times of global economic downturn. They believe that a longer term view is needed.