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 Lagrange points associated with the Sun-Earth system.
Lagrange Points are positions in space where the gravitational forces of a two-body system like the Sun and the Earth balance out, allowing a spacecraft to remain in position with reduced fuel consumption.
The image includes a small icon representing NASA’s WMAP spacecraft orbiting around L2, which is about 1.5 million km from Earth.
ESA missions orbiting Lagrange points include: ICE, LISA Pathfinder and SOHO at L1, and Herschel, Planck, Gaia at L2.
Future ESA Lagrange point missions include JWST, Euclid and Plato (L2), while a study is under way for a future space weather mission at L5.
Note: Image is not to scale