Few words about ESA

The +European Space Agency, ESA  (ESA) is Europe's gateway to space. Its mission is to share the development of Europe's space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.

+European Space Agency, ESA  is an international organization with 20 Member States. By coordinating the financial and intellectual resources of its members, it can undertake programs and activities far beyond the scope of any single European country.

What does ESA do?

ESA's job is to draw up the European space program and carry it through. ESA programs are performed to learn more about Earth, its immediate space environment, our Solar System and the Universe. Moreover, ESA take care about the development of satellite-based technologies and services, and to promote European industries. ESA also works closely with space organizations outside Europe.

Who belongs to ESA?

Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom. Canada is also involved in some projects under cooperation agreements. Poland exchanged accession agreements with ESA, in September 2012 to become the 20th Member State of us.

Hungary, Estonia and Slovenia are 'European Cooperating States. " Other countries have signed cooperation agreements with ESA.

Where is the headquarters of the ESA?

ESA's headquarters are located in Paris, where decisions are policies and programs. ESA also has positions in a number of European countries, each of which has different responsibilities:

EAC, the European Astronauts Centre in Cologne, Germany;
ESAC, the European Centre for Space and Astronomy in Villanueva de la Canada, Madrid, Spain;
ESOC, the European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany;
ESRIN, ESA's center for Earth Observation in Frascati, near Rome, Italy;
ESTEC, the European Space Research and Technology Centre, Noordwijk, the Netherlands.
A new ESA center has opened in the UK, at Harwell, Oxfordshire. ESA also has liaison offices in Belgium, the U.S. and Russia; A launch base in French Guiana and ground / tracking stations in various parts of the world.

This article has be written by Alexandra triantopoulou