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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Visualisation of Venus Express during aerobraking, which saw the spacecraft orbiting Venus at an altitude of around 130 km from 18 June to 11 July 2014. In the month before, the altitude was reduced from around 200 km to 130 km.
The spacecraft survived the test campaign, and the elevation of the orbit was later raised back to approximately 450 km, which allowed operations to continue for a further few months. Eventually, the spacecraft plunged back into the atmosphere and the mission ended.