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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Around the same size as a box for a smartphone, ESA’s Sun-watching Sunstorm CubeSat has produced its first solar X-ray spectrum , coming just over a week after its launch to orbit aboard a Vega rocket. Sunstorm hosts an innovative solar X-ray spectrometer called the X-ray Flux Monitor for CubeSats (XFM-CS).Its function is to detect the X-ray pulses produced by solar flares – explosive releases of magnetic energy seen as enormous flashes on the Sun’s surface. These give rise in turn to space weather, threatening satellites and terrestrial power and communications networks, even aircraft on polar flights.