Agence spatiale européenne
The European Space Agency (ESA) is an intergovernmental organization dedicated to space exploration, with 22 member states. Founded in 1975, ESA shapes Europe's space capabilities, ensuring investments in space deliver benefits to European citizens, working across the entire space sector. ESA develops and operates Earth observation, navigation, telecommunications, and astronomy satellites and sends probes to explore the solar system, partnering with agencies like NASA, JAXA and commercial partners like Airbus. Key programs include the development of launch vehicles like Ariane and Vega, the Galileo satellite navigation system, and missions like Rosetta and BepiColombo.
All verified mentions of this organization in source documents.
ESA’s Celeste mission is intended to show how low-Earth-orbit precise navigation and timing can extend the resilience of current and future medium-Earth-orbit navigation services and improve their performance.
The Earth Return Orbiter was ESA’s primary contribution to NASA’s Mars Sample Return mission.
The launch of Celeste is a milestone for ESA’s FutureNAV initiative and European Resilience from Space initiative.
ESA's "The Daughter Of The Stars" mission reached orbit on Rocket Lab's 85th Electron launch.
ESA’s Mars Sample Return mission is currently not planned to be continued.
ESA is seeking to maximize the return on investment by reusing some technology from the Earth Return Orbiter, including its electric propulsion system.
Celeste is ESA’s strategic program for demonstrating an additional low Earth orbit navigation layer that complements Galileo and Egnos.
ESA has begun discussions with Airbus Defence and Space to manage the transition after the Mars Sample Return funding cut.
Rocket Lab’s "Daughter Of The Stars" mission for ESA had LOx fill underway at Launch Complex 1.
Airbus built the European Service Module in Bremen under contract from the European Space Agency.
ESA supervised the FRKP review of Celeste IOD-1 at GMV’s central facilities.
ESA verified that Celeste IOD-1 was fully assembled and ready for transport.
ESA’s Celeste mission launched IOD-1 and IOD-2 from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 on the Māhia Peninsula, New Zealand, at 10:14 CET on March 28, 2026.
ESA awarded Airbus Defence and Space a €491 million contract in October 2020 to develop and deliver the Earth Return Orbiter.
The European Space Agency robotic-arm project GRASP stands for Gecko Rendezvous Autonomous System and Pincher.
The European Space Agency is responsible for the X-ray imager, the Vega-C rocket, the payload module that will host three of the four scientific instruments, and the integration and test facilities for Smile.
NASA will launch ESA’s Rosalind Franklin Rover to Mars in 2028.
Smile is a scientific cooperation mission between the European Space Agency and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
ESA is contributing a European Service Module for the Orion spacecraft to fly Artemis astronauts to and from lunar orbit.
Europe held 19% of the global downstream space market in 2024, and the ESA Space Economy Report valued that market at €408 billion.