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 three spacecraft of the BepiColombo mission to Mercury are stacked together in launch configuration. ESA’s Mercury Transfer Module sits at the bottom, the Mercury Planetary Orbiter is in the middle, and JAXA's Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter is on top. The sunshield that will protect the module during the cruise phase will be added about a week before launch.