The most powerful nation in western Europe, Britain was the first nation to develop nuclear weapons, allowing it to remain a relevant force despite the loss of most of its empire to independence movements in the late 20th century. A constant problem has been the unresolved fate of Ireland, which revolted in the Great War, the World War and in the 1990s. Britain was also the first nation to land a man on the Moon with its famous Ministry of Space, but was beaten to Mars by the Russian Agency of Space.