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.
Highlights
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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
Austria
Belgium
Denmark
Spain
Estonia
Finland
France
Greece
Hungary
Ireland
Italy
Luxembourg
Norway
The Netherlands
Poland
Portugal
Czechia
Romania
United Kingdom
Slovenia
Sweden
Switzerland
Science & Exploration
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicAstronauts
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Enabling & Support
Making space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
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SOHO Archive
Solar and Heliospheric Observatory
Stationed 1.5 million kilometres away from Earth, SOHO constantly watches the Sun, returning spectacular pictures and data of the storms that rage across its surface. SOHO's studies range from the Sun's hot interior, through its visible surface and stormy atmosphere, and out to distant regions where solar wind battles with a breeze of atoms coming from among the stars. The SOHO mission is a joint ESA/NASA project.
- Launch date: December 1995
- Status: Operational
- Orbit: Slow orbit around Lagrange point L1
- Observes: The Sun's nature and behaviour
- 1850 kg launch mass
- 12 instruments
- 1.5 million km from Earth
- 29 years of operation
