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ESA

The European Space Agency (ESA) is an intergovernmental organisation of 22 member states dedicated to the exploration of space. Established in 1975 and headquartered in Paris, ESA has a worldwide staff of about 2,200 in 2018 and an annual budget of about €5.72 billion (~US$6.43 billion) in 2019. ESA's space flight programme includes human spaceflight (mainly through participation in the International Space Station program); the launch and operation of unmanned exploration missions to other planets and the Moon; Earth observation, science and telecommunication; designing launch vehicles; and maintaining a major spaceport, the Guiana Space Centre at Kourou, French Guiana. The main European launch vehicle Ariane 5 is operated through Arianespace with ESA sharing in the costs of launching and further developing this launch vehicle. The agency is also working with NASA to manufacture the Orion Spacecraft service module, that will fly on the Space Launch System.

ESA’s Euclid Mission Launches to Explore ‘Dark Universe’

“NASA is contributing to the European Space Agency mission, which will complement dark energy studies by the agency’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. The ESA (European Space Agency) Euclid spacecraft lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station …

Origami heat shield: reusable for reentries

“A novel origami-based heat shield developed with ESA support is planned to be tested with an actual atmospheric reentry from space. Named Pridwen, after the legendary shield of King Arthur, this reusable design will spring out before a spacecraft reenters …

ESA’s Juice lifts off on quest to discover secrets of Jupiter’s icy moons

“ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) lifted off on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana at 14:14 CEST on 14 April. The successful launch marks the beginning of an ambitious voyage to uncover …

Telling time on the Moon

“A new era of lunar exploration is on the rise, with dozens of Moon missions planned for the coming decade. Europe is in the forefront here, contributing to building the Gateway lunar station and the Orion spacecraft – set to return …

Euclid electromagnetic compatibility tests successful

“ESA’s Euclid mission is undergoing the final test before launch in July 2023. Here it is standing in a special room in the Thales Alenia Space test facilities in Cannes, France, where it successfully underwent electromagnetic compatibility testing. This …

Farming on the Moon

“Sooner or later, settlers on the Moon will have to become farmers. A new ESA Discovery project led by Norway’s Solsys Mining is looking into the treatment of lunar soil to create fertiliser for growing plants. The good news …

NASA, ESA Reveal Tale of Death, Dust in Orion Constellation

“In a tale of cosmic proportions, the region is being transformed by the massive stars that live and die within it. A new image combining previously released data from three telescopes shows a region that includes the Orion Nebula, named …

How MIRI became Webb’s coolest instrument

“The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope is widely referred to as the successor to the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. In reality, it is the successor to a lot more than that. With the inclusion of the Mid-InfraRed …

Plan to research solar power from space

“The Sun never stops shining in space, and sunlight is much more intense there than on Earth’s surface. So what if we could gather that energy up in space then beam it down to Earth? Recent studies funded by …

NASA, ESA to Discuss Mars Sample Return Mission

“NASA will host a media teleconference at 11 a.m. EDT (8 a.m. PDT) on Wednesday, July 27, to discuss the architecture for its Mars Sample Return campaign. NASA and the ESA (European Space Agency) recently held a systems …