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 22 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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This ESA test bench is usually shrouded in darkness, except for the laser beam being projected across it.
Human eyes are not normally supposed to witness the laser being fired – for this photo, it was fired at the lowest possible energy level, while the camera was switched to its highest light-sensitive settings for an exposure time of half a second.
Lasers are versatile tools for space, variously used for remote sensing, interferometry and communications. ESA’s Opto-Electronics Laboratory, at the Agency’s ESTEC technical centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, specialises in assessing devices that generate, detect and manipulate light.