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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With a simple Google Cardboard-style virtual reality (VR) viewer, you can experience how it feels to be in lunar orbit. This 360-degree VR simulation shows ESA’s SMART-1 spacecraft orbiting the Moon. The simulation was created using the SPICE software developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and data generated by the European Space and Astronomy Centre (ESAC) in Spain. ESA’s 2003-launched SMART-1 mission tested solar electric propulsion to reach the Moon while performing scientific observations of the lunar surface.