巴黎，11月2日电 —— 欧洲航天局（ESA）局长约瑟夫·阿施巴赫尔将于本周在阿拉伯联合酋长国与官员会晤，旨在寻求新合作伙伴，并减少欧洲在太空探索领域对美国的依赖。
PARIS, Nov 2 - The head of the European Space Agency will meet officials in the United Arab Emirates this week as Europe seeks new partners and aims to reduce its reliance on the United States for space exploration.
埃隆·马斯克旗下SpaceX公司的崛起，暴露了欧洲对美国航天技术的依赖程度。
The rise of Elon Musk's SpaceX has laid bare Europe's reliance on American space technology.
“第一，我们应增强自身能力，成为全球生态系统中更强有力的参与者，但要利用这种实力继续与其他伙伴合作，”阿施巴赫尔在接受路透社采访时表示。他将出席在迪拜和阿布扎比举行的会议。
"Number one, we should strengthen our capability, become a stronger player in the global ecosystem, but one that uses its strength to still work with other partners," Josef Aschbacher, director general of the ESA, told Reuters. He will attend meetings in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
阿施巴赫尔补充道：“我们意识到，在探索领域，欧洲高度依赖美国。”他表示，欧洲政治领导人已告知他，该地区需要“更多自主权和更强实力”。
"We realised that in exploration, Europe is very exposed to the United States," Aschbacher added, saying that European political leaders had told him that the region needed "more autonomy and more strength".
与NASA合作减弱 欧航局与美国国家航空航天局（NASA）长达数十年的合作关系已有所减弱，此前华盛顿缩减或叫停了共同项目，包括在月球轨道部署空间站的“月球门户”计划和“火星样本返回”任务。
COOPERATION WITH NASA WEAKENED The ESA's decades-long cooperation with US space agency NASA has weakened after Washington scaled back or halted common projects, including the Lunar Gateway programme to deploy a space station in lunar orbit and the Mars Sample Return mission.
阿施巴赫尔表示，欧航局约5%的预算与对美合作挂钩。欧洲还依赖美国供应商将宇航员送入太空。
About 5% of the ESA's budget is linked to cooperation with the US, Aschbacher said. Europe also relies on US providers to send its astronauts into space.
阿施巴赫尔称，从长远来看，欧航局希望与阿联酋签署框架协议。阿联酋于2020年发射了阿拉伯世界首个火星探测任务。
Aschbacher said that over the longer-term the ESA hopes to sign a framework agreement with the UAE, which launched the Arab world's first mission to Mars in 2020.
阿联酋运营多颗卫星，并通过其宇航员计划派遣两名本国国民进入太空，但目前尚无法自行组织发射，也不拥有像欧盟“伽利略”系统或美国全球定位系统（GPS）那样的独立卫星导航系统。
The UAE operates several satellites, and sent two of its nationals into space through its astronaut programme, but cannot yet organise launches on its own and does not own an independent satellite navigation system like the EU's Galileo or the US Global Positioning System (GPS).
欧航局与阿联酋的讨论内容包括可能的月球车发射任务，以及阿联酋宇航员有望参与EPIC计划，乘坐SpaceX飞船前往国际空间站。
Discussions between ESA and the UAE include a possible lunar rover launch and the potential participation of an Emirati astronaut in the EPIC programme, which would fly a crew to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX spacecraft.
阿施巴赫将访问由美法初创企业 Loft Orbital 与阿布扎比支持的 Marlan Space 共同组建的合资企业，该企业旨在开发卫星星座。此前，法国与阿联酋同意深化两国间的战略防务协议。
Aschbacher will visit a joint venture between Franco-American startup Loft Orbital and Abu Dhabi-backed Marlan Space to develop a satellite constellation, after France and the UAE agreed to deepen a strategic defence agreement between the two countries.
当被问及阿联酋是否可能投资与欧洲航天局合作的项目时，阿施巴赫拒绝透露正在进行的谈判细节。他在 9 月表示，欧洲在未来 10 年将需要 100 亿欧元（约合 112 亿美元）以增强其在太空领域的自主能力。
Asked if the UAE could invest in projects in collaboration with the ESA, Aschbacher declined to discuss ongoing talks. He said in September that Europe would need €10 billion ($11.2 billion) over the next 10 years to strengthen its autonomy in space.
阿施巴赫表示，资金缺口可能会与阿联酋讨论，但他补充说，欧洲航天局首先需要欧洲各国政府就自身的资金投入水平达成一致。他说：“一旦做出这一决定，我们将探讨国际合作。”
Aschbacher said the funding gap may be discussed with the UAE but he added that the ESA first needs European governments to agree on their own level of funding. "Once this decision is made, we will look into international cooperation," he said.