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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Rushes of the arrival and launch preparations at Guiana Space Centre, Kourou of ESA's XMM observatory, due for launch by Ariane 504 on December 9th.
This highly-animated series provides a pre-launch background summary of the mission, and is arranged as follows -
AN OBSERVATORY IN SPACE - why we need XMM, what it will do, how it will work; construction of XMM'; a look at the violent Universe
NEWS OF EXPLODED STARS - what forms a supernova, and how XMM will study them
GIANT BLACK HOLES - a description of black holes and XMM's capacity to look at the X-rays they emit.
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