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
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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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A view inside ESA’s cavernous Hertz chamber for radio-frequency testing of satellites, which will be on show to the public during this Sunday’s ESA Open Day in the Netherlands.
Isolated from the outside world with radio- and sound-absorbing internal walls, the chamber simulates the boundless conditions of space.
Its hybrid nature makes it unique: Hertz can assess radio signals from antennas either on a local ‘near-field’ basis or as if the signal has crossed thousands of kilometres of space, allowing it to serve all kinds of satellites and antenna systems.
This photo was taken during a visit to ESA’s technical centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands by artist and photographer Monica Alcazar-Duarte: “Once the door of the chamber was opened I was presented with a landscape that could have come from a science fiction film. I know this is not the case of course but the room was incredibly inspiring.”
ESA’s Open Day in the Netherlands takes place on Sunday 8 October.