LONDON, Oct. 18 (UPI) -- The Royal Astronomical Society is urging Britain to begin funding its own astronaut program to advance the human exploration of space.
Current British policy allows public money to be spent only on robotic space missions, which means Britain, although a member state of the European Space Agency, provides no funding for ESA's astronaut corps, the BBC reported Tuesday.
English astronauts have been forced to acquire U.S. citizenship and train with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
The RAS report warns Britain is risking being denied scientific, educational and economic benefits that accrue from the human exploration of space, the BBC said.
Panel member Ken Pounds, a University of Leicester professor, said, "It is hard to imagine that the U.K., one of the world's leading economies, would not be fully involved in a global scientific and technology endeavor with such strong potential to inspire."
The panel said the industrial and educational rewards from joining other nations on manned space missions beyond low-Earth orbit could be huge.
"Surveys have shown a significant economic multiplier from investment in space projects, with an additional overall gain in competitiveness," the panel reported.
