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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Earth is surrounded by thousands of satellites carrying out important work to provide telecommunications and navigation services, help us understand our climate, and answer fundamental questions about the Universe. However, as our use of space accelerates like never before, these satellites find themselves navigating increasingly congested orbits in an environment criss-crossed by streams of fast-moving debris fragments resulting from collisions between objects in space. Each fragment can damage additional satellites, with fears that a cascade of collisions may eventually render some orbits around Earth no longer useable. Some spacecraft operators and astronomers have expressed concern about our rapidly increasing and loosely regulated use of space. But others insist that Earth’s orbital environment is so large, and that the planet’s atmosphere pulls down and burns up debris fast enough that there is no need to worry about any long-term consequences. So, does space debris really represent a crisis? Find out in ESA’s latest short documentary film on the state of space debris, which premiers at the 9th European Conference on Space Debris at the World Conference Center in Bonn, Germany, on 1—4 Apr 2025.