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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UK company Vorticity Ltd are flying weather balloon to test parachute designs for future Mars landings. With the Red Planet’s atmosphere around a hundred times thinner than Earth’s, the terrestrial stratosphere makes a workable match for Mars. This ESA patch was flown on 22 January 2013 as part of one such payload,captured by one of the package’s cameras just south of Bicester in Oxfordshire above 34 km altitude, just before the balloon burst.