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About ESA

The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.

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ESA - United space in Europe

This is ESA ESA facts Member States & Cooperating States Funding Director General Top management For Member State Delegations European vision European Space Policy ESA & EU Space Councils Responsibility & Sustainability Annual Report Calendar of meetings Corporate news

Establishments & sites

ESA Headquarters ESA ESTEC ESA ESOC ESA ESRIN ESA EAC ESA ESAC Europe's Spaceport ESA ESEC ESA ECSAT Brussels Office Washington Office

Working with ESA

Business with ESA ESA Commercialisation Gateway Law at ESA Careers Cyber resilience at ESA IT at ESA Newsroom Partnerships Merchandising Licence Education Open Space Innovation Platform Integrity and Reporting Administrative Tribunal Health and Safety

More about ESA

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With the support of the Archives of the French Ministry for European and Foreign Affairs, ESA has produced a facsimile copy of the original convention.

Week in images: 26-30 May 2025

Discover our week through the lens

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Story
Junior Professional Programme 2025
Agency

Final call: ESA’s Junior Professional Programme – your port…

30/05/2025 3089 views 16 likes
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Image
Applications

Earth from Space: Cloud-free Iceland

30/05/2025 1250 views 44 likes
The Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission shows us a rare, cloud-free view of Iceland captured on 17 May 2025.
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Agency

Elevating Europe in space for fifty years

30/05/2025 1372 views 56 likes
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Press Release N° 24–2024
Science & Exploration

ESA and NASA join forces to land Europe’s rover on Mars

ESA and NASA are consolidating their cooperation on the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin mission with an agreement that ensures important US contributions, such as the launch service, elements of the propulsion system needed for landing on Mars and heater units for the Rosalind Franklin rover.
16/05/2024 4859 views
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Space in Member States

Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.

Germany Germany Austria Austria Belgium Belgium Denmark Denmark Spain Spain Estonia Estonia Finland Finland France France Greece Greece Hungary Hungary Ireland Ireland Italy Italy Luxembourg Luxembourg Norway Norway The Netherlands The Netherlands Poland Poland Portugal Portugal Czechia Czechia Romania Romania United Kingdom United Kingdom Slovenia Slovenia Sweden Sweden Switzerland Switzerland

Science & Exploration

Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe

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Programmes

Space Science Human and Robotic Exploration

Astronauts

Sophie Adenot
Pablo Álvarez Fernández
Rosemary Coogan
Samantha Cristoforetti
Alexander Gerst
Raphaël Liégeois
Matthias Maurer
Andreas Mogensen
Luca Parmitano
Thomas Pesquet
Marco Sieber

Missions

Juice Euclid Webb Solar Orbiter BepiColombo Gaia ExoMars Cheops Exoplanet missions More missions

Activities

International Space Station Orion service module Gateway Concordia Caves & Pangaea Benefits

Latest

Story
Simulated moonwalk shot
Science & Exploration

How to capture Moon landing videos – from grainy to HD

28/05/2025 2948 views 38 likes
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Image
Science & Exploration

Webb glimpses the distant past

27/05/2025 17524 views 286 likes
A glimpse of the distant past by Webb
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Video 00:05:23
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Science & Exploration

Gaia: Rewriting the story of the Milky Way

28/03/2025 3905 views 79 likes
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Press Release N° 49–2024
Science & Exploration

ESA 3D prints first metal part on the International Space Station

The first metal 3D printer in space, a collaboration between ESA and Airbus, has printed its first metal product on the International Space Station, a breakthrough in crew autonomy for future long-duration exploration missions.
06/09/2024 3652 views
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Science & Exploration

Space science from home: resources for children and adults

A selection of activities to pass time and learn more about space science

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Space Safety

Protecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit

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About space safety

Protecting our Pale Blue Dot Space Safety at ESA

Asteroids

Asteroids and Planetary Defence Asteroid danger explained Flyeye telescope: asteroid detection Hera mission: asteroid deflection Near-Earth Object Coordination Centre

Space junk

About space debris Space debris by the numbers Space Environment Report In space refuelling, refurbishing and removing

Safety from space

Clean Space ecodesign Zero Debris Technologies Space for Earth Supporting Sustainable Development

Space weather

Solar Hazards ESA Vigil: providing solar warning Space Weather Warning Network

Latest

Story
ESA's Cyber Security Operations Centre
Space Safety

ESA inaugurates new Cyber Security Operations Centre

27/05/2025 1231 views 16 likes
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Space Safety

Close approach of asteroid (612356) 2002 JX8

08/05/2025 1274 views 19 likes
Close approach of asteroid (612356) 2002 JX8
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Video 01:07:58
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Space Safety

Media briefing: Europe's top experts address the growing th…

01/04/2025 803 views 6 likes
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Space Safety

James Webb Space Telescope will study asteroid 2024 YR4

Webb will provide a more accurate estimate of the asteroid's size

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Applications

Using space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth

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Observing the Earth

Observing the Earth Future EO Copernicus Meteorology Space for our climate Satellite missions

Connectivity

Connectivity and Secure Communications ARTES Moonlight Civil security from space

Satellite navigation

Satellite navigation Galileo EGNOS NAVISP Genesis LEO-PNT

Commercialisation

ESA Commercialisation Gateway Open Space Innovation Platform Business Incubation ESA Space Solutions

Latest

Image
Applications

Earth from Space: Cloud-free Iceland

30/05/2025 1250 views 44 likes
The Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission shows us a rare, cloud-free view of Iceland captured on 17 May 2025.
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Story
Norwegian tall ship Statsraad Lehmkuhl
Applications

Media invitation: embark a tall ship for a dive into ocean …

22/05/2025 646 views 15 likes
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Applications

ESA’s Space Systems for Safety and Security (4S) programme

20/11/2024 2277 views 23 likes
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Press Release N° 1–2024
Applications

Media invitation: Last chance to see the EarthCARE cloud and aerosol satellite in Europe

On 1 February, media representatives have the unique opportunity of seeing  the EarthCARE satellite up close in the cleanroom at Airbus facilities in Friedrichshafen, Germany, before the spacecraft is packed up and shipped to California, USA, for a launch scheduled in May.
11/01/2024 4225 views
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ESA Φ-week 2021
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Register for Φ-week

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Enabling & Support

Making space accessible and developing the technologies for the future

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Building missions

Space Engineering and Technology Test centre Laboratories Concurrent Design Facility Preparing for the future Shaping the Future Discovery and Preparation Advanced Concepts Team

Space transportation

Space Transportation Ariane Vega Space Rider Future space transportation Boost! Europe's Spaceport Launches from Europe's Spaceport from 2012

Flying missions

Operations ESA ground stations Ground Systems Engineering

Latest

Story
ESA Discovery
Enabling & Support

Join the live session: Discover how you can work with ESA f…

30/05/2025 229 views 7 likes
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Image
Enabling & Support

Plato’s dialogue

13/05/2025 686 views 22 likes
Plato’s dialogue
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Video 00:02:27
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Enabling & Support

Proba-3 lift-off replay

05/12/2024 3450 views 64 likes
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Juice approaches Earth
Enabling & Support

Blog: Juice's lunar-Earth flyby

Follow for the latest updates as ESA's Jupiter mission swings through the Earth system this summer

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Press Release N° 8–2024
Enabling & Support

Call for interest: Ariane 6 launch media events at Europe’s Spaceport

Media representatives are invited to express their interest in attending media events at Europe's Spaceport at Kourou, French Guiana, for the first flight of Europe's new rocket Ariane 6. Journalists wishing to participate in either or both the pre-launch and launch media programmes detailed below, are asked to submit their application via ESA’s media accreditation page by Friday 1 March 2024.
19/02/2024 2533 views
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Enabling & Support

Estrack in action

15/05/2015 2002 views
ESA / Enabling & Support / Operations / Highlights
Image and video gallery of ESA's ground stations – linking people with spacecraft travelling to the frontiers of human knowledge
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    Enabling & Support

    From the pampas to the stars

    14/12/2012 16744 views 29 likes
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  • Image
    Enabling & Support

    Lifting DSA-3 antenna

    18/01/2012 1982 views 9 likes
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    Lifting the huge DSA-3 antenna dish into place
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    Enabling & Support

    ESA's Malargüe tracking station

    13/12/2012 5072 views 61 likes
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    ESA's Malargüe tracking station
  • Video
    Enabling & Support

    Tracking spacecraft deep across the void

    24/09/2013 66476 views 80 likes
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    Enabling & Support

    Bathed in green

    15/10/2014 4962 views 54 likes
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    Laser light illuminates ISS
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    Enabling & Support

    Upgraded station in Spain

    06/03/2014 1628 views 14 likes
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    Upgraded station in Spain
  • Video
    Enabling & Support

    New Norcia tracking station

    05/03/2015 5832 views 23 likes
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  • Image
    Applications

    New Norcia station

    13/12/2013 2339 views 15 likes
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    New Norcia station
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    Enabling & Support

    Monitoring signals

    24/03/2015 1224 views 4 likes
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    Monitoring signals
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    Enabling & Support

    New Norcia station

    16/03/2015 4296 views 60 likes
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    ESA’s 35 m deep-space tracking dish in Australia was inaugurated in March 2003
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    Enabling & Support

    Tracking network control room

    03/01/2013 5715 views 25 likes
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    Tracking network control room
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    Enabling & Support

    Kiruna station

    20/01/2015 7847 views 70 likes
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    Kiruna station
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    Enabling & Support

    New antenna array

    06/03/2014 1895 views 8 likes
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    New antenna array
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    Agency

    Cebreros 35m deep space antenna undergoing inspection

    02/02/2007 780 views 3 likes
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    Cebreros 35m deep space antenna undergoing inspection
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    Enabling & Support

    Cebreros station

    03/11/2006 3286 views 20 likes
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    Cebreros station
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    Enabling & Support

    Network map

    01/12/2015 29235 views 85 likes
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    ESA ground station network
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    Enabling & Support

    Kourou tracking station

    18/05/2009 5036 views 66 likes
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    Kourou tracking station
  • Image
    Enabling & Support

    Maspalomas station

    18/04/2008 3232 views 10 likes
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    Maspalomas station
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    Enabling & Support

    Kiruna station

    09/10/2006 3801 views 23 likes
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    Kiruna station
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    Agency

    Engineer at work in the ESTRACK Control Centre

    31/01/2008 651 views 1 likes
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    Engineer at work in the ESTRACK Control Centre
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    Enabling & Support

    Santa Maria station

    11/01/2008 1479 views 6 likes
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    Santa Maria station
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