Fernando Alexandre, Portuguese Minister of Education, Science and Innovation, poses for a photo prior to the start of the European Space Agency (ESA) ministerial meeting at the Congress Centrum in Bremen, northern Germany, on November 26, 2025. Ministers from the 23 member states of the European Space Agency (ESA) meet in the Hanseatic city for two days to discuss the strategic direction of European spaceflight. (Photo by FOCKE STRANGMANN / AFP via Getty Images)