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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First special VIP guests confirmed for this year's ESA Open Day in the Netherlands, taking place at the ESTEC technical centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, on 8 October 2017: astronauts Dumitru Prunariu of Romania, Ulf Merbold and Ernst Messerschmid of Germany, Dirk Frimout of Belgium, Claudie Haigneré of France and André Kuipers of the Netherlands. Plus more still to be confirmed.
For now, please save the date. You can register to attend ESA’s Open Day in the Netherlands from 3 July.
In place for more than half a century, the ESTEC European Space Research and Technology Centre in Noordwijk on the North Sea coast is ESA’s largest establishment, focused on developing technology, planning missions and testing satellites.
The hub of our continent’s space effort, this is where the majority of European space projects are born, developed and tested in advance of their flights into orbit.