After the Americans, Russians, Chinese, Japanese and Indians, the Germans have now also set their sights on the moon. The aerospace coordinator in the German federal government, Peter Hintze, proposed in a televised interview that an unmanned lunar mission by the year 2015 should be part of a government plan to strengthen the economy.

According to Hintze, a public investment of about 1.5 billion Euros spread out over five years would  not only put a robot lander on the moon, but also lead to the development of innovative technologies, in particular in robotics, that might be of use in industry and medical care and create new jobs in high-tech industries.

The lunar mission itself would likely focus on questions related to the origins of the solar system; Hintze referred to the moon as "the archive of the solar system" which contained answers to questions such as where we come from.

Whether any of this will actually happen, however, is a different question, because Hintze might not have a say in the matter: Germany will elect a new parliament in late September, and any decisions as to whether and how to fund a lunar mission would be up to the next government.