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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From one space flier to another, ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer shares a message of support for the James Webb Space Telescope (Webb) launch, from ESA’s Columbus science laboratory on the International Space Station.
Matthias is currently living and working in space for his first mission known as Cosmic Kiss. He describes themission of Webb as part of humankind’s biggest adventure, as we explore the cosmos to understand our place within it.
Webb is the next great space science observatory following Hubble, designed to answer outstanding questions about the Universe and to make breakthrough discoveries in all fields of astronomy. It is an international partnership between the European Space Agency ESA, US space agency NASA, and the Canadian Space Agency CSA, and will be launched on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana.
Webb is designed to see farther into our origins: from the formation of stars and planets to the birth of the first galaxies in the early Universe, just as the International Space Station enables us to learn more about our home planet.
Visit the ESA Webb mission page to find out more and follow Webb’s journey on Twitter at @ESA_Webb. For more on Matthias’s International Space Station mission, visit ESA’s Cosmic Kiss webpage.