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Defining the Cosmic Vision

What are the conditions for life and planetary formation?

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ESA is designing missions to detect habitable planets across a wide range of stellar types.

Credits: ESA 2001. Illustration by Medialab.

How does the Solar System work?

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This montage of images of the Saturnian system was prepared from images taken by the US Voyager 1 spacecraft during its Saturn encounter in November 1980. This artist's arrangement shows Dione in the foreground, Saturn rising behind, Tethys and Mimas fading in the distance to the right, Enceladus and Rhea off Saturn's rings to the left, and Titan in the distant orbit at the top.

Credits: NASA

What are the fundamental laws of the Universe?

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Searching for gravitational waves with LISA

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LISA will be the first space-based mission to attempt the detection of gravitational waves. These are ripples in space that are emitted by exotic objects such as black holes.

Credits: ESA

How did the Universe begin and what is it made of?

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Overall view of the history of the Universe according to the Big Bang model.

Credits: Spaceweek International

Last update: 28 April 2005

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More about ESA's Cosmic Vision...

Missions beyond imagination

ESA's Cosmic Vision workshop 2004 Plans for the future IAA's vision for the next steps in exploring deep space How a mission is chosen