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 topicThis movie was compiled from images taken by the Venus Monitoring Camera on Venus Express as it approached the planet on its elliptical orbit on 1 June 2012. Initially, the spacecraft is looking at the south side of the planet from a distance of 63 000 km and clouds can be seen moving below. As the spacecraft draws closer, Venus starts filling the field of view and the equatorial regions can be seen. The sequence finishes with observations of cloud features at high latitudes.