European Space Agency
Europe's gateway to spaceOverview
ESA is the first thing people think about when someone mentions European space exploration – an unique agency formed by 22 European member states. While it’s not an agency of the European Union – most of its members are also a part of the EU and ESA closely cooperates with it, most notably on the Galileo satellite navigation and Copernicus earth observation programmes.
Mission highlights
These are only a few of many missions of the European Space Agency. For a full list see the ESA missions website.
Observatories
| Primary observations | Website | Status | Comments | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| XMM-Newton | X-ray | XMM Newton website | Active | Largest space observatory launched by ESA to date |
| INTEGRAL | Gamma-ray | INTEGRAL website | Active | International mission lead by ESA, the first telescope to observe targets in Gamma rays, X-rays and visible light |
| Gaia | Astrometry | Gaia website | Active | Building the largest space catalog of astronomical objects |
| SOHO | Solar observatory | SOHO ESA website | Active | NASA’s mission, ESA partnering |
| Hubble Space Telescope |
Visible | Hubble ESA website Hubble image archive |
Active | NASA’s mission, ESA partnering |
| James Webb Space Telescope |
Infrared | JWST ESA website | To be launched in 2018 | Collaborative NASA, ESA, CSA mission |
| Solar Orbiter | Solar observatory | SO ESA website | To be launched in 2018 | Will become the closest man-made object to the Sun |
Planetary science & deep space
| Destination | Website | Status | Comments | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rosetta / Philae | Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko | Rosetta website Rosetta blog |
Completed | First mission to orbit a comet, first landing on a comet |
| Venus Express | Mercury | Venus Express website | Completed | Discovered active vulcanism on Venus and an evidence of past oceans |
| ExoMars | Mars orbit & surface | ESA Mars exploration website | Active / Completed / Planned | Mission is composed of: Trace Gas Orbiter (2016), Schiaparelli lander (2016), Surface Platform (2020) and Rover (2020). 2016 mission is the largest spacecraft to ever reach Mars |
| JUICE | Icy moons of Jupiter | JUICE website | Planned | First mission with ice-penetrating radar, designed to study ice and oceans beneath the surface of Europa, Ganymede and Calisto |
| BepiColombo | Mercury | BepiColombo website | Planned | Largest spacecraft to ever use ion engines. BepiColombo is a joint ESA-JAXA mission composed of unique spacecraft that will split into two entering different orbits around Mercury |
Earth
| Objective | Website | Status | Comments | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sentinels | Wide scope of earth observation | Copernicus Programme homepage Detailed information about Sentinel satellites |
Active / Planned | European Commission’s programme composed of multiple spacecraft belonging to 6 major families, collecting earth observation data from the entire globe |
| Cluster | Study of the Earth’s magnetosphere | Cluster website | Active | Mission composed of 4 independent spacecrafts |
| Envisat | Radar and multi-spectral Earth Observation | Detailed information about Envisat | Completed | Largest civilian Earth Observation satellite |
European Space Agency HQ
ESTEC
European Space Research and Technology Centre
ESOC
European Space Operations Centre
ESRIN
Centre for Earth Observation
EAC
European Astronaut Centre
ESAC
European Space Astronomy Centre
Redu Centre
Part of ESA’s network of the ground stations used to control and test satellites on orbit. Also a location of the Space Weather Data Centre storing space weather data archive and an infrastructure for related services.
ECSAT
European Centre for Space Applications and Telecommunications
Guiana Space Centre
Le Centre Spatial Guyanais, Europe’s space port in French Guiana co-owned by CNES and ESA with Arianespace facilities and a military base of Forces armées en Guyane, securing the spaceport.