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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How do researchers spot a distant planet? By observing the changes in light as it orbits its star. A light curve from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope’s Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) shows the change in brightness from the LHS 475 star system over time as the planet transited the star on 31 August 2022. LHS 475 b is a rocky, Earth-sized exoplanet that orbits a red dwarf star roughly 41 light-years away, in the constellation Octans. The planet is extremely close to its star, completing one orbit in two Earth-days. Confirmation of the presence of the planet was made possible by Webb’s data.