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
Go to topicThank you for liking
You have already liked this page, you can only like it once!
ESA engineers test and debug ground control software and equipment, identifying and solving problems before a current or future mission can be affected.
They work close to real mission conditions to verify new software and hardware in a complete chain.
This runs from the flight controllers who sit at workstations through the complex and sophisticated mission control systems and ground tracking stations used to transmit commands right up to the satellite. And it’s all simulated in a safe, effective and rigorous way, helping to ensure the success of ESA missions.
More information