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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This is an artist's impression of Integral’s investigation of high-mass X-ray binaries. Integral has revealed two different types of stars. In the first example (top panel), the neutron star companion is buried deeply in the extended outer envelope of the star. This results in persistent X-ray emission. In the second example (bottom panel), the neutron star only occasionally swallows material from the envelope, causing a sudden brightening of its gamma rays.