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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Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is surrounded by about fifty dwarf galaxies. Most of these galaxies are only identifiable through telescopes and have been named after the constellation in which they appear on the sky (for example, Draco, Sculptor or Leo). However, the two most obvious dwarf galaxies are called the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), and these are easily visible to the unaided eye. Traditionally these dwarf galaxies have been thought of as satellites in orbit around the Milky Way for many billions of years. Now, however, new data from ESA’s Gaia spacecraft have shown that the majority of the dwarf galaxies are passing the Milky Way for the first time. This forces astronomers to reconsider the history of the Milky Way and how it formed, along with the nature and composition of the dwarf galaxies themselves.