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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On 24 March 2022, ESA came one step closer to unveiling the mysteries of the dark Universe, following the coming together of two key parts of the Euclid spacecraft – the instrument-carrying payload module and the supporting service module.
This image shows the 800-kilogram payload module being lifted by a crane, just before it was lowered onto the service module.
Euclid’s instruments were integrated onto the payload module at the end of 2020. During 2021, the complete module successfully passed intensive testing under simulated space conditions to check that the telescope and instruments work as expected.
Read more about the coming together of the payload and service modules here.