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 21 January 2025, engineers at ESA’s technical heart (ESTEC) connected the two main parts of the Smile spacecraft, putting it into its final flight configuration.
In this image we see the payload module, which hosts three of the spacecraft’s four science instruments. The payload module is the responsibility of ESA, and was built by Airbus on behalf of ESA.
An Airbus engineer looks on as his colleague attaches ropes to the payload module. The ropes are part of a hoisting system that carefully lift the module up into the air, move it across the room, and place it on top of the second main part of the spacecraft, the platform.
When the payload module is finally ready to lift, it rises very slowly, at about a centimetre per second. After all, this is delicate equipment that has taken years of work and is worth millions of euros!
Find out more about the testing and integration of Smile at ESTEC
Smile (the Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer) is a 50–50 collaboration between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
[Image description: A man in protective clothing in a cleanroom. He is looking at a spacecraft covered in bronze foil. Four hooks hang from the ceiling; a second engineer seems to be attaching these hooks to the spacecraft.]