A new initiative that may eventually lead to a Briton training as an astronaut with the European Space Agency (Esa) will be proposed at a space meeting in Scotland.
British space officials are saying, however, that if it were to go ahead, it would not represent a change in British space policy that says human spaceflight is a waste of money.
The proposals for more UK scientific experiments on the International Space Station (ISS) will be made by the UK's space minister Lord Sainsbury at the two-day ministerial-level meeting of Esa, which begins in Edinburgh on Wednesday.
Reaction from the other member nations of Esa could be mixed. In the past they have been critical of Britain's reluctance to be involved in human spaceflight.
But while the UK says it would not have supported the building of the ISS or Esa's involvement in it, Lord Sainsbury's position will be that since the platform is operational UK researchers could benefit from it.
Rubber stamp
Ministers responsible for the 15 member states of Esa and Canada will be meeting in Edinburgh to set the course for Europe's space effort over the next five years and beyond.
Almost all of the decisions are a foregone conclusion. The ministers will endorse the broad strategy outlined by the Director General of Esa, Antonio Rodata.
Esa officials are also hoping that ministers will agree to a closer relationship between Esa and the European Union.
Further work will be undertaken to improve the performance of the Esa-developed Ariane 5 rocket, as well as the development of new technologies for communication satellites.
'Limited experiments'
Ministers are also expected to endorse a strategy to get the best out of Esa's investment in the ISS. This would take the form of new experiments on the platform, as well as an increase in the number of European astronauts put down to ride to the station.
Britain's space minister Lord Sainsbury has made it clear that he does not think the ISS is essential to do good science. In a speech to the Royal Society just a few weeks ago, he said: "...the cost of conducting research on manned space platforms is simply too high... the potential benefits have not been demonstrated.
"It is for this reason that we chose not to participate in the building of the ISS," he added.
But, signalling his stance at the forthcoming meeting, he also said that Britain had to: "...decide whether UK researchers would benefit from using the ISS and whether to support some limited experiments."
This might lead to a seat on a rocket to the ISS for a British astronaut. But Esa insiders say it has yet to be seen if such "limited experiments" would qualify a UK individual for a place in the European Astronaut Corps. Some nations are likely to resent the British desire to be involved having previously denigrated the project.
Red Planet
To date, no Briton has trained with Esa's astronauts. Several Britons are, however, in training with the US space agency for American-funded space missions.
So far, only two Britons have gone into space: Helen Sharman on a Russian rocket in 1991 and Michael Foale, who has joint UK-US nationality, on the Space Shuttle.
Reports at the weekend that the UK is set to change its view about the manned exploration of space and become involved in planning for human missions to Mars have been discounted by UK Government officials.
One source told BBC News Online that Britain would examine Esa's Aurora Exploration Programme, which aims to develop a long-term plan for the robotic and human exploration of the Solar System, but no major shift in policy should be expected.
"Aurora is one of Esa's smaller initiatives," she said, adding that the UK was chiefly advocating its Beagle-2 unmanned Mars lander, which will look for life on the Red Planet, and not any expensive human spaceflight to Mars.
