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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A visualisation showing how the trajectory of Solar Orbiter takes it within 5° of the Sun, as seen from Earth (indicated with red lines). This marks the start of Solar conjunction, lasting from about 29 January until about 14 February 2021. In the image, the Sun is shown much, much smaller than it should be so as to not cover up the spacecraft. Earth is the dark blue orb in the foreground. You can spot Solar Orbiter at any point in its journay via ESA's Where is Solar Orbiter? visualisation tool: https://solarorbiter.esac.esa.int/where/.