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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Aerocapture could enable small spacecraft to reach orbit, and in future be useful also for larger spacecraft in human exploration scenarios. While Mars is an attractive first destination for the application of aerocapture beyond Earth, the technique’s advantages are particularly apparent for ambitious scientific missions to worlds with atmospheres beyond Jupiter.
The Preparation element of ESA's Basic Activities recently took a step towards turning Mars aerocapture from theory to reality. It funded two teams – one led by ArianeGroup and the other by Vorticity – to design spacecraft that use a feasible, simple aerocapture system. The hope was to become confident enough in aerocapture that we would be happy to consider using it on future science or exploration missions.