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
Go to topicPicture dated probably 1909 of US Admiral and explorer Robert Edwin Peary (1856-1920), born in Cresson Springs, PA. Peary made eight Arctic voyages to the Greenland coast in 1891-2, arriving on the East coast by crossing the ice. In 1909 he led the first expedition to the North Pole, though his achievement was disputed by his fellow-explorer Frederick Cook, who claimed to have reached the Pole in 1908, a claim generally discredited.