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European Space Agency (ESA)

Intergovernmental space exploration agency with 22 member states, established on May 30, 1975. The organization's 2023 budget was around 4.9 billion euros.

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All Content on this topic

Ariane 6 upper stage in development in Germany, 2021

Ariane 6: How to build a space rocket step-by-step

Many have bemoaned the 10 years it took Europe to develop its new rocket, Ariane 6. But that's just how long it takes.
ScienceJune 28, 2024
This image taken from video animation at Beijing Aerospace Control Center (BACC) on June 2, 2024 shows the lander-ascender combination of Chang'e-6 probe before landing on the far side of the moon

Chang'e 6: What's in store for China-EU space cooperation?

China’s Chang'e-6 lunar probe highlights the giant strides China is making in space exploration.
ScienceJune 3, 2024
The silhouette of a tree against the night sky, above it the Milky Way is visible

Gaia telescope reveals new insights into Milky Way's history

The space telescope Gaia has discovered two streams of stars that helped form our galaxy more than 12 billion years ago.
ScienceMarch 21, 2024
A mock illustration of oil canisters in space

Falling space debris: How high is the risk I'll get hit?

An International Space Station battery fell back to Earth and, luckily, splashed down harmlessly in the Atlantic.
ScienceMarch 8, 2024
Picture of the ERS-2 satellite

European satellite falls back to Earth after 29 years

A satellite has broken apart and reentered the Earth's atmosphere after almost three decades in orbit.
ScienceFebruary 21, 2024
Screengrab from the live feed of India's Chandrayaan-3 lander touching down softly on the moon

Why getting astronauts to the moon is tough in 2024

NASA's failed Artemis rocket launch is a good reminder that moon missions are as risky today as they were 60 years ago.
ScienceJanuary 10, 2024
View of the moon's surface

What space exploration missions await us in 2024?

2024 is set to be an exciting year for space exploration, including missions to bring us closer to landing on the moon.
ScienceJanuary 3, 202402:18 min
A rocket flight above clouds towards space

Space exploration in 2024: 5 things to know

2024 is set to be an exciting year for space exploration. What's in store?
ScienceJanuary 1, 2024
Illustration of the European Space Station satellite facing two planets in the distance

Cheops finds key to billion year old exoplanet system

The European satellite has revealed the secrets of a rare planetary system that's puzzled scientists for years.
ScienceNovember 29, 2023
Aerial shot of the International Space Station with Earth below

International Space Station: 25 years of a safe space

A quarter century on and the ISS is still a place of peaceful collaboration for science. Here's what you need to know.
ScienceNovember 20, 2023
An animated view of the Euclid space telescope

ESA plans future of European space exploration (Nov. 2023)

DW looks at some of the challenges the European Space Agency will be facing in the coming years.
ScienceNovember 15, 202302:17 min
The Shenzhou-17 manned spaceship blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.

China: Lonely in space despite lofty ambitions

China issued an invite to foreign astronauts for its new space station. The US and Europe are in no hurry to accept.
PoliticsOctober 30, 2023
Ilustrated version of a floating rocket launcher platform at sea.

Taking on SpaceX: Why Germany is building its own spaceport

To face off with SpaceX and the like, Germany is planning a North Sea launch pad. First take-offs are due to start 2024.
ScienceOctober 23, 2023
Gaia’s all-sky view of our Milky Way Galaxy and neighbouring galaxies, based on measurements of nearly 1.7 billion stars

Gaia space observatory finds half a million new stars

Recent data helps us understand a phenomenon called gravitational lensing and reveals star-packed parts of the sky.
ScienceOctober 10, 2023
An animation showing a hole over the ozone layer

Large ozone hole detected over Antarctica

The ozone hole over Antarctica is one of the biggest on record. Should we be concerned?
ScienceOctober 6, 2023
Japan's lunar mission takes of from a space center in Southern Japan.

Japan launches 'moon sniper' lunar mission

Japan's lunar mission comes two weeks after India successfully landed its craft on the moon's south pole.
Nature and EnvironmentSeptember 7, 2023
Artist's impression of an astronaut walking on the planet Mars

Life in space changes the human immune system

Spaceflight is harsh on health. A study shows life on the International Space Station weakens the human immune system.
HealthAugust 23, 2023
Satellite image of wildfires burning on the Greek island of Rhodes

EU's Copernicus program: Tracking humans' impact on Earth

We know the planet is getting hotter because we've got Copernicus, a family of satellites and ground-based instruments.
ScienceAugust 10, 2023
Exoplanet LTT9779b and its home star

Scientists find planet with metal clouds 'like a mirror'

The strange world, rather prosaically known as LTT9779b, is the brightest planet discovered outside the solar system.
ScienceJuly 10, 2023
An Ariane 5 rocket taking off in Kourou

Last launch of the Ariane 5 rocket

The Ariane 5 is taking off for the last time — the end of an era for an icon that helped build Europe's space industry.
TechnologyJuly 6, 202302:17 min
The Ariane 5 launches from the spaceport in the French Guinea on July 5

Europe's Ariane 5 rocket lifts off for final time

The European Space Agency's Ariane 5 "workhorse" rocket marked its 117th and final mission after 27 years of service.
TechnologyJuly 6, 2023
An illustration of the Euclid space telescope

Euclid probe aims to discover secrets of universe

A new mission by the European Space Agency aims to find out more about dark matter and dark energy.
ScienceJune 30, 202302:43 min
MADE Space Junk

Collecting debris in outer space

Space debris has been flying around near Earth’s orbit for more than 50 years. What's the solution?
TechnologyJune 30, 202308:15 min
Euclid space telescope ESA

The mystery behind dark matter and dark energy

How are nonvisible forces distributed in space? ESA’s Euclid mission will try to answer questions that stump scientists.
ScienceJune 30, 202301:14 min
ESA's Euclid spacecraft

The Euclid telescope: On the trail of dark energy and matter

A new telescope will make the most detailed map of the universe to help us understand dark matter and energy.
ScienceJune 29, 2023
The Miura-1 Rocket pictured near Huelva, southern Spain

Spanish startup aborts test rocket launch

The rocket launch from southern Spain would have been the first in Western Europe by a private company.
TechnologyJune 17, 2023
DW Sendung Shift | 3DPrint

3D printed rockets: a revolution in spaceflight

3D printing technology could be crucial in future space missions like a journey to Mars. Here’s why.
Digital WorldMay 12, 202303:56 min
DW Shift Sendungslogo Composite

Shift – Living in the Digital Age

AI viral hits, 3D printed rockets, Russian cyber warfare: the topics that have moved the tech world.
Digital WorldMay 12, 202312:36 min
The five candidates — Sophie Adenot, Pablo Alvarez Fernandez, Rosemary Coogan, Raphael Liegeois, and Marco Sieber — pose in the doorway of a mockup of the European Columbus module on the International Space Station that they will use during their training.

ESA introduces its latest class of European astronauts

They're part of a 17-person crew chosen from more than 22,000 applicants. By 2026, the first should go to the ISS.
ScienceMay 3, 2023
ESA I Ariane 5 Rakete

Exploring Jupiter's icy moons

The European Space Agency is searching for aliens on Jupiter's moons, Ganymede, Callisto and Europa.
ScienceMay 2, 202307:23 min
The Ariane 5 rocket carrying the robotic explorer Juice takes off from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana on Friday April 14th

Europe's Juice spacecraft launches to Jupiter's moons

The European Space Agency's Juice probe has launched, on an eight-year journey to explore Jupiter's icy moons.
ScienceApril 14, 2023
An image of Jupiter captured by the James Webb Teleskop

Jupiter and the Juice launch: What you need to know

The ESA has launched a spacecraft to explore three of Jupiter's moons. Here's what we know about Jupiter so far.
ScienceApril 14, 2023
This artist's concept shows a simulated view from the surface of Jupiter's moon Europa

European Juice mission to explore Jupiter's moons

The ESA's Juice probe has blasted off on an eight-year journey to find out if life could exist on Jupiter's moons.
ScienceApril 13, 2023
Could ice-encrusted oceans on one of Jupiter's moons be harboring extraterrestrial life?

European probe set for voyage to explore Jupiter's moons

Could ice-encrusted oceans on one of Jupiter's moons be harboring extraterrestrial life?
ScienceApril 13, 202302:48 min
DW Projekt Zukunft Sendungslogo Englisch (Tomorrow Today)

What exactly is the DART mission?

This week's question comes from Jorge Mondragon in Mexico.
ScienceMarch 4, 202302:47 min
DW Projekt Zukunft Sendungslogo Englisch (Tomorrow Today)

Tomorrow Today - The Science Magazine

Astronauts on the moon, dangers from space and Africa's oldest dinosaur
ScienceMarch 3, 202326:06 min
James Webb Space Telescope image of AU Mic

The latest images from the James Webb Space Telescope

The James Webb Space Telescope continues to stun the world and help advance our understanding of the universe.
ScienceJanuary 16, 20237 images
The Vega C ahead of its first lift-off earlier this year

EU loses new Vega-C launcher rocket after liftoff

The first commercial mission, carrying state-of-the-art satellites, was lost shortly after blast off from French Guiana.
ScienceDecember 21, 2022
ESA's new parastronaut John McFall, a British former Paralympic sprinter

European Space Agency names first disabled astronaut

Paralympic sprinter John McFall will help ESA create conditions for people with disabilities to travel to space.
ScienceNovember 23, 2022
Moon in the night sky

Artemis I launch paves way for moon settlement

The launch of the uncrewed Artemis I mission marks the beginning of a long journey to put humans back on the moon.
ScienceNovember 16, 2022
Meteor running in the starry sky, toward the planet Earth

Who owns the moon?

As nations and private companies plan for more space exploration, what legal claims can they make on the moon?
ScienceNovember 15, 2022
Samantha Cristoforetti in a blue shirt, looking to the right of the camera lens

Commander Cristoforetti of the ISS

Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti is the fifth European to take command of the International Space Station.
ScienceSeptember 27, 2022
An artist illustration of the DART spacecraft heading towards its target, the Dimorphos asteroid

NASA DART hits asteroid target

The DART spacecraft crashed into an asteroid, marking the first time humanity had tried to deflect an object in space.
ScienceSeptember 25, 2022
DW Podcast | Science Unscripted

Weekly roundup — T-minus ... a decade?

With Artemis about to launch, we need to ask ourselves an important question: What do we actually want for our moon?
ScienceAugust 28, 202230:00 min
DW Podcast | Inside Europe

Inside Europe 18.08.2022

Climate special: the European Space Agency tracks terrestrial changes from space, drought in the UK, France’s nuclear conundrum and the race to contain Europe's wildfires. Also: DW's On the Green Fence podcast takes an in-depth look at the aviation industry’s contributions to climate change.
PoliticsAugust 18, 202255:00 min
Satellitenbilder helfen bei Ernteprognosen, Illustration

Climate crisis in Europe: lessons from space

Europe is experiencing a prolonged period of extreme heat which has seen once mighty rivers reduced to trickles as wildfires gobble up land at a rate of 16 football pitches per minute. Inside Europe spoke to European Space Agency Climate Applications Scientist, Dr Clement Albergel, about a crisis which is now visible from space.
ClimateAugust 18, 202203:38 min
[No title]

Weekly roundup — A message from very far away

This was it. This was the week where we got to see our universe in a way we've never seen it before.
ScienceJuly 17, 202230:00 min
DW Podcast | Science Unscripted

Europe's (kinda clunky) James Webb moment

The unveiling of the James Webb telescope's first images really was special. It didn't go as planned here in Germany.
ScienceJuly 13, 202207:01 min
Merkur-Sonde BepiColombo

BepiColombo’s Mercury mission

Mercury is hard to reach, but the BepiColombo mission is hoping to get closer than ever before.
ScienceJuly 8, 202203:29 min
Sonnensystem

Tomorrow Today – The Science Show

We take a closer look at the moon - and the challenges of exploring Mercury.
ScienceJuly 8, 202226:06 min