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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ESA's Hera mission will deploy a pair of CubeSats in the vicinity of its target asteroid, deploying at a speed of just a few cm per second to prevent them risking leaving orbit and getting lost in space. The Hera Deep Space Deployer’s CubeSat Release System that will give each CubeSat their final push away had to tested in terrestrial gravity, which meant employing a pendulum-based rig plus high-speed cameras to validate the desired velocity would be reached at Dimorphos.