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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How do you build a spaceship? It’s not easy – because space is hard. It’s endless vacuum, hot and cold at the same time, streaked with radiation – and you have to fly at eight kilometres per second just to get there. It takes clever engineering – and costly research and development – to operate in orbit. Space is risky, but past payoffs have been vast. ESA’s track record lets us manage that risk, balancing it with chances for rich rewards.
ESA is Europe’s space agency, enabling its 22 Member States to achieve results that no individual nation can match. ESA combines space mission development with supporting labs, test and operational facilities plus in-house experts covering every aspect of space, supported through the Agency’s Basic Activities.
Space19+
For ESA’s Space19+ set for the end of this year, the Agency is asking Europe’s space ministers for a substantial investment for Basic Activities, to modernise infrastructure and speed up R&D cycles, helping to support a new generation of space missions as efficiently as possible.