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.
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Combining ESA spend with major national programs yields total European government space spending of about $15 billion to $20 billion per year as of the mid‑2020s.
The Agenzia Spaziale Europea (ESA) inaugurated the Celeste project in 2024.
ESA’s SMILE mission is a collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
ESA did not announce by the end of 2025 whether it would continue studying space-based solar power in 2026 despite initially promising a late-2025 decision.
Finland increased its contribution to the European Space Agency by 59%, from €147 million in 2022 to €233 million in 2025, investing mainly in programs focused on Earth observation, security, and telecommunications.
ESA launched the SOLARIS program in 2022 to investigate space solar as a pathway to achieving net-zero emissions.
ESA set an ambitious objective for Celeste to launch the first satellite in less than two years from project kickoff.
Michela Muñoz presented the Mars Sample Return Program as a joint NASA and ESA mission to recover samples collected by the Perseverance rover and return them to Earth for detailed analysis.
The European Space Agency spends around $8.5 billion per year.
Kepler Communications adheres to open standards such as Space Development Agency and ESA protocols to ensure interoperability.
ESA’s Celeste Pathfinder A mission is scheduled to launch no earlier than 24 March 2026.
The Onward and Upward mission is supported by the European Space Agency’s Boost! program.
Michela Muñoz participated in the OSIRIS camera team for the European Space Agency's Rosetta mission.
ESA awarded ArianeGroup €230 million across two contracts in November 2024 for additional Themis T1E testing.
The European Space Agency’s Themis reusable rocket demonstrator will be the first vehicle to utilize Esrange’s new Orbital Launch Control Center for suborbital flights.
The Onward and Upward mission is supported by the European Space Agency's Boost! programme.
An international team led by Thomas Wilson of the University of Warwick used ESA's Cheops satellite along with other space and ground based observatories to study the red dwarf star LHS 1903 and its planets.
Ramses builds on experience from ESA’s Hera mission, which is the agency’s first dedicated planetary defence spacecraft and is en route to the Didymos binary asteroid system.
The Ramses mission supports the core objectives of ESA’s Space Safety Programme by improving knowledge of how near-Earth objects react to external forces and by refining strategies for defending Earth from potentially hazardous asteroids.
An increase in Spain's contribution to the European Space Agency will enable the development of new national constellations.