Space Safety

As we discover more about the brilliant scale and nature of the Universe, planet Earth’s blue oceans, green forests and glistening city lights appear even more unique, and even more fragile. Many hazards have been identified originating in space, which although unlikely, continue to pose real dangers to our way of life, and in the worst cases to human health and safety.

Only in the past decades have we had the opportunity to understand the potential perils of our position in our Solar System, and as technologies continue to advance we are entering a period in which we can actually act. However, as technologies advance, so too does our dependence on them, making us more vulnerable to both human-made and natural threats in space.

In 2009, ESA launched its Space Situational Awareness (SSA) programme with the aim of ensuring that Europe can independently detect, predict and assess threats from space and their potential risk to life, property and infrastructure. In 2019, that successful programme evolved into its current form: ESA's Space Safety programme, its scope expanding to include not only monitoring and risk assessment, but threat mitigation and prevention.