By Cassell Bryan-Low

LONDON (Reuters) -European nations agreed on Thursday to increase spending on space over the next three years by about 30% to 22.1 billion euros, part of an effort to try to catch up to the U.S., China and private firms zooming ahead in the space race.

The European Space Agency had asked its 23 nations to provide some 22 billion euros to fund launches, satellites and other research programmes for the next three years, up from 16.9 billion in 2023-2025.

ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher, during a news conference after two days of ministerial talks in Bremen, said it was the first time he could recall where member states in the 50-year-old organisation had met the agency’s request.

The agreement highlights the importance of space, including as a rapidly growing e

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