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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Rosetta’s Structural and Thermal Model – an initial replica of the flight model built to allow early testing – in the Large Space Simulator at the ESTEC Test Centre in 2000. The LSS is Europe’s largest thermal vacuum chamber. High-performance pumps can achieve a vacuum a billion times lower than standard sea level atmosphere, while liquid nitrogen circulated around the walls approximates the cryogenic temperatures of space. An array of powerful xenon lamps reflected in the mirror array can reproduce the unfiltered sunlight prevailing in space.