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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Venus is our mysterious neighbour, a strange world where the Sun rises in the west and sets in the east, and a day lasts longer than a year. ESA's Venus Express mission has spent the last eight years gathering data to offer science a fresh insight into the atmosphere and climate of the planet, including a daring aerobraking manœuvre this summer that revealed previously unknown waves in the upper atmosphere.