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
Go to topicRemoving anti-personnel mine in Afghanistan. Most humanitarian mine removal is still carried out in the same way as it was after World War II, by using manual probes, sniffer dogs and metal detectors. Such methods are dangerous, slow and labour intensive and no longer very efficient. The Handheld Operational Demining System (HOPE) project is part of the European Union’s efforts to support humanitarian demining operations. ESA assists these efforts under its Technology Transfer Programme, which supports the use of space technology in non-space fields. HOPE includes a ground penetration radar originally developed for space missions to other planets for the investigation of soil content and underground structures. Photo:University of Western Australia Demining Research Project