Download ESA and its science missions

ESA AND ITS SCIENCE MISSIONS
Europe’s eyes on the Cosmos
ESA Activities
ESA is one of the few space agencies in the world to
combine responsibility in nearly all areas of space activity.
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Space science
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Human spaceflight
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Robotic exploration
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Earth observation
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Launchers
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Navigation
Telecommunications
Technology development
Operations
Outreach
ESA Establishments
ESA HQ
ESAC
ESTEC
EAC
ESOC
Kourou
ESA in Europe and the World
ESRIN
Perth
ESA Establishment
ESA’S LOCATIONS
Locations
EAC
ESTEC
(Noordwijk) (Cologne)
Salmijaervi
(Kiruna)
Harwell
ESA HQ
(Paris)
ESA sites/facilities
Offices
ESOC
(Darmstadt)
Brussels
Redu
Toulouse
Cebreros,
Villafranca
ESA ground stations
Oberpfaffenhofen
ESAC
(Madrid)
ESRIN
(Rome)
Moscow
Santa Maria
Washington
Houston
Kourou
Maspalomas
New Norcia
Perth
Malargüe
Key Milestones of Europe in Space
1962 ELDO (launchers) and ESRO (satellites) organisations created.
1975 ESA created from merging of ELDO and ESRO.
1975 First ESA mission (Cos-B, to study gamma rays) launched.
1979 First Ariane rocket launched from Guiana Space Center.
1980 First commercial space company (Arianespace) created.
1983 First Spacelab launch with ESA’ s first astronaut (Ulf Merbold).
1986 First deep space mission launched (Giotto to Comet Halley).
1991 First ESA Earth Observation satellite (ERS-1) launched.
1996 Ariane-5 test flight fails and causes loss of Cluster mission.
2002 Launch of ESA’s biggest satellite ever (Envisat).
2003 Last flight of Ariane-4 flight after 116 successful launches.
2003 First ESA planetary mission launched (Mars Express).
2006 New generation meteo. platform (MetOp-A) launched.
2008 ESA‘s Columbus module installed in Inter. Space Station.
2009 Six new astronauts selected (2 IT, FR, DK, DE, UK).
2010 ESA‘s ‘ice mission’ (Cryosat-2) launched.
2011 ESA-Russia-China experiment Mars 500 concluded.
ESA – Over 30 years in Space
ESA and Planetary Exploration
1985 First ESA ‘deep space’ mission to flyby comets Halley and Grigg-Skjellerup (1992)  GIOTTO
2004 First ever ESA planetary mission to orbit and ‘crash’ on planet Mars 
MARS EXPRESS
2005 First mission ever to land on a satellite of a giant planet 
(carried by CASSINI)
HUYGENS
2005 First ESA mission to orbit the Moon as technical demonstrator of propulsion system 
2006 First ESA mission to orbit Venus with reflight of previously launched spacecraft 
SMART-1
VENUS EXPRESS
2014 First ESA mission to visit 2 asteroids (Steins, Lutetia) on its way to comet Churyumov-G 
2022 First ESA mission to orbit Mercury in tandem with JAXA spacecraft 
ROSETTA
BEPI COLOMBO
1985
2003
2022
JUICE
2005
2003
1995
2015
1990
2000
1997
Launch dates in red
2004
PECS and Cooperation
ESA
Member
States
Plan for
European
Cooperating
States
France
Germany
Italy
U. K.
Spain
Belgium
Netherlands
Switzerland
Sweden
Denmark
Ireland
Norway
Austria
Finland
Portugal
Greece
Luxembourg
Czech Rep.
Romania
Poland
+
Canada
Hungary
Estonia
Latvia
Slovenia
Cooperation
Agreement
Turkey
Ukraine
Lithuania
Cyprus
Slovakia
Israel
Malta
Enlarging ESA
ESA and International Cooperation
Japan
Russia
Hinode
Soyuz
Spaceport
BepiColombo
to Mercury
ExoMars
China
United
States
International
Space Station
India
Chandrayaan
Worlwide Cooperation in Space
Double
Star
Mars ?
Next stop: the future
Since 1985, ESA looks at its scientific programme with a long-term vision.
ESA’s Horizon 2000, Horizon 2000 Plus and Cosmic Vision consecutive programmes,
each spanning over about a decade, gave birth to a wide spectrum of scientific
missions in different fields of space research.
Cosmic Vision 2015-2025, the next slot of ESA’s scientific programme, encompasses
advanced missions that will address, with new means, the fundamental questions:
How did we get from the Big Bang to where we are now?
Are there other worlds elsewhere?
The formation of the Solar System
The origin and evolution of life
The wonders of the Universe
Astronomy and fundamental physics at ESA
ESA’s sentinels in the Solar System
From the Sun to the planets
JUICE
Living with a star
The Sun and its influence on Earth
Ulysses, 1990-2009
Over the uncharted poles of the Sun
Joint ESA/NASA mission, with more
than 18 years of operations
First mission to fly over the Sun’s poles,
and first 4D map of the heliosphere, its
magnetic field and the solar wind
Discovered that energetic particles that
ought to be confined at low latitudes
can climb up to the Sun’s poles
Studied galactic cosmic rays and the
interaction between the heliosphere and
its interstellar neighbourhood
Launch: 6 Oct 1990, Space Shuttle
Jupiter swing-by: 8 Feb 1992
Orbit: polar, heliocentric
Status: end 30 June 2009
SOHO, 1995-
The solar guardian
Joint ESA/NASA mission, studying the
Sun and its effects on Earth
Discoverer of new phenomena such as
coronal waves and solar tornadoes
First images ever of structures and flows
below the Sun’s surface, first views of the
Sun’s far side
Dramatically improved space-weather
forecasting capability
Monitoring solar variability to understand
climate impact
Most prolific discoverer of comets in
astronomical history - more than 1500
Launch: 2 Dec 1995, Atlas-IIAS
Orbit: around L1
Status: operational
Cluster, 2000-
Sun-Earth connection in focus
Four identical satellites flying in formation
Unprecedented 3D study Earth’s
protective bubble in space – the
magnetosphere - and of its interaction
with the solar wind
3D vision of magnetic reconnection in
space
First measurement of electric current in
space
Localisation of the sources of natural
plasma waves, and discovery of surface
waves in the ‘magnetotail’
Explanation of the origin of ‘black’
aurorae
Launch: 16 Jul and 19 Aug 2000,
Soyuz-Fregat
Orbit: around Earth
Status: operational
Collaborative missions
to the Sun and the Earth’s magnetosphere
Double Star
Led by CNSA (China), it is a pair of
satellites complementing Cluster in
studying the Sun-Earth connection
and Earth’s magnetosphere
Launch: 29 Dec 2003
Status: end Aug 2007
Hinode
Led by JAXA (Japan), it is studying the
mechanisms that power the solar
atmosphere
Launch: 23 Sep 2006
Status: operational
Voyage to the planets
and the minor bodies of the Solar System
Giotto, 1985-1992
Close encounter with comet Halley
Europe’s first deep-space mission
Closest comet fly-by to date
First ever close-up images of a comet
nucleus
First evidence of organic material in a
comet
First mission to encounter two comets
(Halley and Grigg-Skjllerup)
Launch: 2 Jul 1985, Ariane-1
Halley encounter: 14 Mar 1986
Grigg-Skjllerup fly-by: 10 Jul 1992
Status: concluded on 23 Jul 1992
Cassini-Huygens, 1997-
Unlocking the secrets of Saturn and its moons
Joint NASA/ESA/ASI mission, studying
in-depth the planet, its moons, rings and
magnetic environment
Best ever views of Saturn’s rings and
discovery of giant cyclones at Saturn’s
poles
Discovery of hydrocarbon lakes on Titan,
and the ‘building blocks’ for complex
organic molecules in its atmosphere
First ever in situ analysis of Titan’s
atmosphere and surface with Huygens
probe
Discovery of geysers of water-ice and
organic compounds jetting from surface
of Enceladus
Launch: 15 Oct 1997, Titan-IVB/Centaur
Arrival at Saturn: 1 Jul 2004
Huygens delivery to Titan: 14 Jan 2005
Status: operational
Huygens, 2005
Down to Titan – a primordial Earth?
Furthest ever landing in the Solar
System, and first metre-resolution
photographs of Titan’s hidden surface
Discovery of ‘Earth-like’ landscapes, and
signs of fluvial erosion activity
First direct sampling of Titan’s
atmospheric chemistry, rich in
hydrocarbons, to provide clues as to how
life began on Earth
First in situ measurements of Titan’s
atmospheric structure below 1400 km
(temperature and density)
Direct measurements of Titan’s winds
below 150 km, confirming the superrotation of its atmosphere
Landing on Titan: 14 Jan 2005
Descent duration: 2h 28min
Surface operations: more than 3 hours
Status: end 2005
Mars Express, 2003-
Global view of the Red Planet
First European mission to Mars
Breathtaking, high-resolution images of the
surface in 3D and in colour
First sub-surface sounding, and discovery
of water-ice deposits below the surface
Mineralogical evidence for liquid water
throughout Martian history
Detailed study of the Martian crust density
First detection of atmospheric methane
from orbit, and of night-glow and midlatitude aurorae
Estimation of the atmospheric escape rate
In-depth studies of Martian moon Phobos
Launch: 2 Jun 2003, Soyuz-Fregat
Arrival at Mars: 25 Dec 2003
Orbit: polar, elliptical
Status: operational
SMART-1, 2003-2006
Europe goes to the Moon
First European mission to the Moon
Technology demonstrator for solar-electric
propulsion and miniaturised instruments
Excellent images of the surface, also in
colour, and best ever views of the lunar
poles
First mission to observe the Moon in X-ray
and infrared from orbit
Best ever mapping of elements making up
the Moon’s minerals, including first
detection of calcium
Providing a huge data legacy for the
comprehension of the lunar origin and
evolution
Launch: 27 Sep 2003, Ariane 5
Arrival at the Moon: 13 Nov 2004
Orbit: polar, elliptical
Status: concluded by Moon crashing on
3 Sep 2006
Rosetta, 2004-2015
Rendez-vous with comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko
First mission to orbit a comet nucleus,
and deploy a lander (Philae) onto its
surface
Studying the evolution of the comet’s
phenomena while it approaches the Sun
Bringing a full lab to a comet for in situ
chemical analysis
Helping to understand if comets
contributed to the origin of life and the
formation of oceans on Earth
Studying two asteroids at close quarters
during the journey
Helping to understand the origin and
evolution of the Solar System
Launch: 2 Mar 2004, Ariane 5 ECA
Gravity assists: Earth, Mar 2005,
Nov 2007, Nov 2009; Mars, Feb 2007
Asteroid Steins fly-by: 5 Sep 2008
Asteroid Lutetia fly-by:10 Jun 2010
Comet encounter: 22 May 2014
Lander delivery:10 Nov 2014
Status: operational
Venus Express, 2005-
Lifting the veil on ‘Earth’s twin’
First European mission to Venus
First global examination of Venus’s
atmosphere, and first global and 3D
views of the ‘double vortex’ at the south
pole, and of clouds, waves and convection
cells
First extensive meteorological maps of
Venus, with wind fields and temperatures
First unambiguous detection of lightning
Most complete data set of the chemical
species in the atmosphere
Detection of water escape from the
atmosphere into space
Launch: 9 Nov 2005, Soyuz-Fregat
Arrival at Venus: 11 Apr 2006
Orbit: polar, elliptical
Status: operational
BepiColombo, 2014
Closing in on Mercury
Joint ESA/JAXA mission, and the first
dual-satellite enterprise to Mercury
First European mission to orbit a planet
in the hot regions of the Solar System, to
make the most extensive study of
Mercury – from the interior to the
exosphere
Helping to reveal the evolution of
Mercury and the formation of the inner
planets, and to understanding the origin
of Mercury’s global magnetic field – the
only one of a rocky planet other than
Earth
Testing Einstein’s theory of General
Relativity
Launch: 2014, Ariane 5
Arrival at Mercury: 2020
Orbits: polar, elliptical
Status: implementation
Collaborative missions
to the Solar System
Kaguya (SELENE)
Led by JAXA (Japan), it consists of an orbiter and 2 satellites for
the study of the lunar origin and evolution
Launch: 14 Sep 2007
Status: intentionally crashed on lunar surface 10 Jun 2009
Chang’E-1
Led by CNSA (China), it is making 3D images and geological
maps of the lunar landforms
Launch: 24 Oct 2007
Status: end 01 March 2009
Chandrayaan-1
Led by ISRO (India), it is making a global mineralogical
mapping of the Moon
Launch: 22 Oct 2008
Status: end 29 Aug 2009
Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 candidates
Large missions to make history
JUICE – to Jupiter and Ganymede
A European mission (with NASA collaboration), to
make the deepest ever study of the Jovian system
and several of its moons (Europa, Callisto and
Ganymede).
One spacecraft will focus on the Jupiter system at
large and on Ganymede, whose icy mantle could
contain an ocean of liquid water, in particular.
IXO – the next-generation X-ray
observatory
A joint ESA/NASA/JAXA mission, successor to XMMNewton.
Objectives include looking into the formation of
super-massive black-holes and their influence on
galaxy growth, and on the evolution of large scale
structures in space.
Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 candidates
Medium-size missions, great opportunities
Marco Polo – returning asteroid samples
to Earth
A joint ESA/JAXA mission, heading to a near-Earth
asteroid belonging to a class of objects more
ancient than Earth, and return a sample.
The study of such primitive objects is key to
understand the formation and evolution of the
Solar System.
Solar Orbiter – closest to the Sun
A joint ESA/NASA mission to study the Sun with
unprecedented resolution and perform the
closest ever in situ measurements of our star.
It will provide unprecedented views of the solar
atmosphere and will deliver images and data of
the polar regions and the far-side, not visible
from Earth.
FOR MORE
INFORMATION
www.esa.int/science