ESA identifies next steps to ensure its world-leading status

When ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher took office on 1 March 2021, he presented Agenda 2025 to ensure that ESA is a world-leading space agency. ESA maintains a dashboard on its progress and takes snapshots every six months in its updated status report on the implementation plan of Agenda 2025.

At the 327th ESA Council held in Paris on 18 and 19 June, delegates also heard about ESA’s space safety programme, which aims to protect power grids on Earth and spacecraft in orbit from hazards originating in space. ESA’s status report on space safety highlights progress on monitoring space weather, providing planetary defence and minimising space debris. The Vigil mission to place a satellite into an orbit from which it can spot solar flares that will become Earthbound before they actually head towards the planet is now being built, following the signature of a contract between ESA and Airbus. The Hera mission to assess the condition of an asteroid that was intentionally damaged is on target to launch later in 2024. And ESA’s efforts to clear redundant satellites from orbit around Earth and to launch in-orbit servicing of satellites are also proceeding well.

Meanwhile ESA is boosting commerce and delivering sustainability in space, following a meeting held at the Ministerial level in Brussels in May. A report by the Director General on the 11th Space Council highlights how ESA is working with the EU to strengthen the European space industry while promoting the responsible use of space.