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.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
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Mars may once have been much more like Earth, with conditions that may have been suitable for life.
Launched in 2003 and still operating today, ESA’s Mars Express mission has shown that liquid water once flowed on the Red Planet, altering its geology. It has also found evidence for methane in its atmosphere, which on Earth is produced by life, as well as natural gas reservoirs and volcanic activity.
ExoMars, a joint programme with Roscosmos, is continuing Mars exploration and the search for life. A first mission launched in 2016 is making detailed, remote observations of the martian atmosphere, searching for evidence of methane and other trace atmospheric gases that could be signatures of active biological or geological processes.
A second mission will deploy a European rover that will travel across the martian surface to search for signs of life underground, where it is better protected from the harsh radiation environment. It will collect samples with a drill and analyse them with cutting-edge instruments.