ESAC, the European Space Astronomy Centre, is the home of ESA’s astronomy, planetary and solar/heliospheric missions. All science missions are conducted from here and the resulting data is calibrated, processed, stored and distributed from the same site.

Almost all of ESA’s space science missions rely on the knowledge, expertise and experience of the professionals working at this site, located close to Madrid, Spain. ESA’s Rosetta, XMM-Newton, SOHO, Gaia, Planck, Herschel, Mars and Venus Express and other missions have their activities coordinated here. With many more missions to come, ESAC has been firmly established as the heart of space science in Europe.

In addition to these activities, ESAC also hosts the SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) Earth observation satellite, helping to monitor the Earth’s water cycle and providing important clues to the evolution of our changing climate. Also, ESAC owes its roots as a ground station, using its 15m antenna to provide support to past, present and future space missions.

Taking into account all of this, ESAC is also an important nexus for educational activities, with its CESAR programme providing access to the stars for future scientists and engineers

For more information, have a look at our brochure:
ESAC: ESA’s window to the universe and the heart of Europe’s space science activities.