Space and Astronomy Atlas

How The Universe Works
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme

Switch Atlas

Space Agencies and Companies

European Space Agency

Also Known As ESA
Space Agencies of Europe

An intergovernmental space agency with 22 member states, coordinating Europe's space programs and partnering with NASA on missions including the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes.

Facts
Agency Type
Intergovernmental space agency 1
Founded Year
1975 1
Headquarters
Paris, France 1
Head
Josef Aschbacher (Director General) 2
Annual Budget
approximately 8 billion euros annually (8.26 billion euros for 2026) 2
Connections

Associated With

Space Debris, Concepts

Operates

Ariane 1, Launch Vehicles
Source European Space Agency: History
Automated Transfer Vehicle, Spacecraft

The Automated Transfer Vehicle was the European Space Agency's uncrewed cargo spacecraft that resupplied the International Space Station, 2008-2014.

Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Additional Source Automated Transfer Vehicle - WikipediaWikipedia: Automated Transfer Vehicle, lead section
BepiColombo, Spacecraft

BepiColombo is a joint ESA/JAXA mission to Mercury; the European Space Agency leads the mission and built the Mercury Planetary Orbiter.

Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Additional Source Wikipedia - BepiColomboWikipedia: BepiColombo, lead section
BepiColombo Mission, Missions and Programs
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Cassini-Huygens Mission, Missions and Programs
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Additional Source Cassini (Wikipedia)Cassini-Huygens, lead section
CHEOPS, Observatories and Instruments
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Euclid (spacecraft), Observatories and Instruments
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
ExoMars Program, Missions and Programs
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Gaia, Observatories and Instruments
Source European Space Agency: History
Giotto, Spacecraft

Giotto was the European Space Agency's first deep-space mission, flying past Halley's Comet in 1986.

Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Additional Source Wikipedia - Giotto (spacecraft)Wikipedia: Giotto (spacecraft), lead section
Herschel Space Observatory, Observatories and Instruments
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Hipparcos, Observatories and Instruments
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Additional Source Wikipedia: European Space AgencyLead section
Huygens, Spacecraft

The Huygens probe was built and operated by the European Space Agency as ESA's contribution to the joint Cassini-Huygens mission.

Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Additional Source Wikipedia - Huygens (spacecraft)Wikipedia: Huygens (spacecraft), lead section
INTEGRAL, Observatories and Instruments
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
International Space Station, Spacecraft
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Additional Source International Space Station (Wikipedia)International Space Station, lead section
International Space Station Program, Missions and Programs
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
International Ultraviolet Explorer, Observatories and Instruments
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Additional Source Wikipedia: International Ultraviolet ExplorerLead section
Mars Express, Missions and Programs
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Planck (spacecraft), Observatories and Instruments
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Rosetta, Spacecraft
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Additional Source Rosetta (spacecraft) (Wikipedia)Rosetta (spacecraft), Introduction section
Rosetta Mission, Missions and Programs
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, Observatories and Instruments
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Solar Orbiter, Spacecraft

Solar Orbiter is a European Space Agency mission, developed and operated by ESA in collaboration with NASA.

Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Additional Source Solar Orbiter - WikipediaWikipedia: Solar Orbiter, lead section
XMM-Newton, Observatories and Instruments
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Additional Source Wikipedia: European Space AgencyLead section
In the Other Atlases
  • Also in Geography Atlas: France, located there.
Sources
1. European Space Agency: History
European Space Agency
  • ESA history page, Convention section
    On 30 May 1975, the ESA Convention was signed by 10 founding Member States and has since now expanded to 23 Member States, three Associate Members, one Cooperating State and Cooperation Agreements with four other EU states.
  • Operates: Gaia
  • Operates: Ariane 1
2. European Space Agency: Corporate News (Director General and Budget)
European Space Agency
  • Josef Aschbacher, ESA Director General page, role paragraph
    As Chief Executive Officer of ESA, Dr Aschbacher is responsible for the definition, implementation and development of Europe's space infrastructure and activities.
  • Josef Aschbacher, ESA Director General page, budget sentence
    He is responsible for an annual budget of €8 billion and a workforce of 6000 distributed across several establishments, principally in Europe.
View the Source
Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Operates: International Space Station Program, Wikipedia: International Space Station programme, lead section
  • Operates: Mars Express, Wikipedia: Mars Express, lead section
  • Operates: ExoMars Program, Wikipedia: ExoMars, lead section
  • Operates: Rosetta Mission, Wikipedia: Rosetta (spacecraft), lead section
  • Operates: BepiColombo Mission, Wikipedia: BepiColombo, overview section
  • Operates: Euclid (spacecraft), Euclid (spacecraft)
    Operator: ESA
  • Operates: Planck (spacecraft), Planck (spacecraft)
    Operator: ESA
  • Operates: CHEOPS, CHEOPS
    Operator: Swiss Space Office / ESA
  • Operates: Herschel Space Observatory, Herschel Space Observatory
    Operator: ESA / NASA
  • Operates: INTEGRAL, INTEGRAL
    Operator: ESA / RKA / NASA
  • Operates: Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, Solar and Heliospheric Observatory
    Operator: ESA / NASA
View the Source
International Space Station (Wikipedia)
Operates: International Space Station, International Space Station, lead sectionView the Source
Rosetta (spacecraft) (Wikipedia)
Operates: Rosetta, Rosetta (spacecraft), Introduction section
Quote, Operates: Rosetta, Rosetta (spacecraft), Introduction section
A space probe built by the European Space Agency
View the Source
Cassini (Wikipedia)
Operates: Cassini-Huygens Mission, Cassini-Huygens, lead sectionView the Source
Wikipedia - Huygens (spacecraft)
Operates: Huygens, Wikipedia: Huygens (spacecraft), lead sectionView the Source
Wikipedia - Giotto (spacecraft)
Operates: Giotto, Wikipedia: Giotto (spacecraft), lead sectionView the Source
Wikipedia - BepiColombo
Operates: BepiColombo, Wikipedia: BepiColombo, lead sectionView the Source
Solar Orbiter - Wikipedia
Operates: Solar Orbiter, Wikipedia: Solar Orbiter, lead sectionView the Source
Automated Transfer Vehicle - Wikipedia
Operates: Automated Transfer Vehicle, Wikipedia: Automated Transfer Vehicle, lead sectionView the Source
Wikipedia: European Space Agency
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Operates: Hipparcos, Lead section
    The European Space Agency (ESA; pronounced /ˈiːsə/ EE-sə) is a 23-member international organisation devoted to space exploration.
  • Operates: XMM-Newton, Lead section
    The European Space Agency (ESA; pronounced /ˈiːsə/ EE-sə) is a 23-member international organisation devoted to space exploration.
View the Source
Wikipedia: International Ultraviolet Explorer
Operates: International Ultraviolet Explorer, Lead section
Quote, Operates: International Ultraviolet Explorer, Lead section
The satellite was a collaborative project between NASA, the United Kingdom's Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC, formerly UKSRC) and the European Space Agency (ESA), formerly European Space Research Organisation (ESRO).
View the Source
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.