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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Two comets collided at low speed in the early Solar System to give rise to the distinctive ‘rubber duck’ shape of Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko.
The image shown here was taken on 22 August 2014 at a distance of 63.4 km from the comet centre. It shows the comet’s small lobe to the left, with the striking cliffs of Hathor clearly visible. In the foreground on the far right, the smooth Imhotep region can be seen on the large lobe. The image scale is 5.4 m/pixel and it measures 5.5 km across.