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
Go to topicThank you for liking
You have already liked this page, you can only like it once!
Comparing the in-space-made weld, seen left, to its terrestrial equivalent, right. This is the historic result of the very first autonomous welding to be performed in space, and the first ESA has been involved with. No welds have been performed in orbit for four decades – until this recent automated ThinkOrbital experiment, involving an electron beam welding gun, flown on the first stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 launched from Cape Canaveral on 6 May.