BERLIN - Germany could send a team of robots to the moon by 2015 with the proper funding and political will, the country's aerospace co-ordinator said Wednesday.
The program would cost C1.5 billion ($2.1 billion) over five years, Peter Hintze said.
Hintze said the mission is worthwhile because 40 years after Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin stepped onto the surface of the moon, it remains an "excellent research platform for the exploration of space," and an "archive of the solar system."
He also suggested that the moon could serve as "the world's space airport" for future missions further afield.
Johann-Dietrich Woerner, chairman of the German Aerospace Center, agreed that the project is technically feasible within Hintze's timeframe.
"We have the robotic competence," Woerner told The Associated Press.
Hintze said the aerospace centre is already making plans for the project, but any funding would require parliamentary approval following Germany's elections next month.
German government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm said Chancellor Angela Merkel have not yet closely considered the proposal.
