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 topicA photograph of the Dry Valleys in coastal East Antarctica. This is a region where, today, too little snow falls to form ice, yet it is so cold that no erosion takes place. In fact, the surface is reckoned to be at least 8 million years old. So what is exposed is the bed of an earlier, long-gone, ice sheet. The photograph shows channels eroded by a sub-glacial water flow, giving some idea of the complexity of the drainage system that may connect the lakes.