Berlin- The German government unveiled plans on Wednesday to send an unmanned mission to the moon within the next decade, a year after a similar project was put on hold for financial reasons. The government's air and space travel coordinator Peter Hintze, of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), advocated the plans to send an unmanned craft to the earth's satellite within five years - at a cost of 1.5 billion euros.
The project is backed by the CDU and the Free Democrats (FDP), who are angling for a driving seat in a possible CDU-FDP coalition government after the country goes to the polls next month.
The proposal, discussed in a cabinet meeting, would need to be approved by the new government formed after the September 27 election.
Last summer, a more modest proposal weighing in at 350 million euros was sidelined over financial constraints. At the time, a lunar orbiter was to circle the moon for four years, delivering never-seen surface images.
The new proposal, which includes a mobile research vehicle to land on the surface of the moon, presents a greater technical challenge which in turn carries a far higher price tag.
At present it is unclear how this should be financed.
"We mobilized 5 billion (euros) for the scrapping scheme for old cars this year, so we should possibly be able to manage 1.5 billion over five years," said Hintze, who is also state secretary for the economy.
Another option would be a cooperation with the European Space Agency (ESA) or with other states.
Hintze described the moon as "the archive of our solar system," adding that this made it a highly interesting research destination.
Research Minister Annette Schavan supported the proposals.
"If we manage to realize a national lunar mission ... we can give proof of the German research and economic capacities," Schavan recently said.
In 2009, the German government is expected to spend a total of 1.4 billion euros on space travel.
The opposition Left Party criticised the plans.
"The federal government loses all budgetary credibility if, in light of dramatic tax slumps, it keeps announcing new billion-euro projects," said the Left Party's budget expert Gesine Loetzsch.
Earlier this year, the US celebrated the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing. Alongside Europe and Russia, China, India and Japan have all unveiled ambitious space projects.
