ESA ministers to meet in Rome to decide Europe's space exploration options

5 October 2026

The European Space Agency announced that its Intermediate Ministerial Meeting 2026, known as IMM26, will take place in Rome, Italy, on 15 December 2026 at the La Nuvola Rome Convention Center. ESA Member States will meet to discuss Europe's future role in space exploration and agree on a joint way forward. In September 2026, at the International Space Summit in Paris, ESA Member States endorsed a document called A Call to Boost European Space Exploration, which provided political guidance and required ESA to prepare concrete options for decision by ministers at IMM26. Discussions will focus on securing Europe's access to and presence in low Earth orbit in the post-International Space Station era, strengthening Europe's presence on and around the Moon through a combination of international cooperation and targeted autonomy, and using low Earth orbit and the Moon as stepping stones towards future exploration of Mars.