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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The faint purple glow comes from one of ESA’s very smallest space thrusters, being tested in a vacuum chamber in the Agency’s propulsion laboratory. This espresso-cup-sized Radio-frequency Ion Thruster, or miniRIT, delivers steady thrust in the range 10–100 micronewtons, equivalent to the force exerted by a few grains of sand. The engine was tested during the second half of May in the Propulsion Lab of ESA’s ESTEC technical centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. It was developed by Astrium in Germany, Selex Galileo in Italy and Nanospace in Sweden.