Jan Woerner. Photo: ESA
European Space Agency (ESA) Director General Jan Woerner has decided to step down from his position at the end of February, a few months before the end of his term, to let successor Josef Aschbacher take the helm.
Woerner, who has served as director general since 2015, first announced in February 2020 that he would not seek another term. In December, ESA announced that Aschbacher, currently director of Earth Observation Programs, would take over in July 2021.
Woerner wrote in a blog published Jan. 8, that he made his decision because of Aschbacher’s position in ESA, the timing until ESA Council at ministerial level in 2022, and negotiations with the European Union on the Financial Framework Partnership Agreement (FFPA).