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 topicShock testing of the BepiColombo structural and thermal model, shown in real time and presented again in slow motion afterwards. In this test, the spacecraft model is exposed to the shocks it will experience when BepiColombo separates from the upper stage of an Ariane 5 launcher during its voyage into space. At the signal, the launch vehicle assembly unit is released onto blocks of foam rubber while accelerometers mounted on the spacecraft measure the effect of the shock. The test was carried out in the test centre at ESA’s European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in Noordwijk, the Netherlands.