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
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In 1996, the ESA-funded Geostationary Orbit Impact Detector (GORID) experiment was launched into GEO on the Russian Ekspress2 satellite on 26 September 1996. The first impacts were detected on 3 November 1996. During five years of operation, an average of 2.4 impacts/day were detected, with peak counts of 50 per day.