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 topicGolden age of space astronomy - this video, released 6 months before the launch of ESA's XMM-Newton, looks at how XMM-Newton and NASA's Chandra are set to revolutionise X-ray astronomy. These two amazing discovery machines complement each other. While Chandra is the gourmet of X-rays, looking in sharp focus, XMM-Newton is the glutton, with a prodigious appetite for cosmic X-rays.