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 topicThank you for liking
You have already liked this page, you can only like it once!
The distant galaxy A1689-zD1 appears as a greyish-white smudge in this close-up view taken with Hubble's Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS). The galaxy is brimming with star birth. Hubble and Spitzer worked together to show that it is one of the youngest and likely the most distant galaxies ever discovered. Astronomers estimate that the galaxy is 13 thousand million light-years away. Abell 1689 is 2.2 thousand million light-years away.