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
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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The Huygens Probe Structural, Thermal & Pyro Model (STPM) is shown in its final launch configuration at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory on the Proto Flight Model of the Cassini Orbiter without its thermal blankets. The gold-coated Multi-Layer Insulation (MLI) covering the Front Shield will limit the heat loss from the Descent Module inside during the 6-year interplanetary cruise to Saturn. The white-painted aluminium segment provides a small, controlled heat leak, reducing the systems' sensitivity to variations of the MLI properties due to the prolonged exposure to the space environment. The white-painted, rear side of the Orbiter's High Gain Antenna (HGA) developed by the Italian Space Agency (ASI), dominates the upper equipment bays of the Orbiter, where several experiments and one of the thermal louver panels are visible. The long experiment booms attached to the equipment bays are not deployed during this test preparation phase, and aluminium mock-ups of the Radioisotope Thermal Generators (RTG [Image Date: 01-05-97] [97.07.002-008]