70-708: BepiColombo is a joint mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to the planet Mercury . The mission comprises two satellites launched together: the Mercury Planetary Orbiter ( MPO ) and Mio ( Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter , MMO ). The mission will perform a comprehensive study of Mercury, including characterization of its magnetic field , magnetosphere , and both interior and surface structure. It
140-640: A scientist , mathematician and engineer at the University of Padua , Italy , who first proposed the interplanetary gravity assist manoeuvre used by the 1974 Mariner 10 mission, a technique now used frequently by planetary probes. Mio , the name of the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter, was selected from thousands of suggestions by the Japanese public. In Japanese, Mio means a waterway, and according to JAXA, it symbolizes
210-424: A "glitch" prevented the spacecraft's thrusters from operating at full power during a scheduled manoeuvre on 26 April. On 2 September, ESA reported that to compensate for the reduced available thrust, a revised trajectory had been developed that would add 11 months to the cruise, delaying the expected arrival date from 5 December 2025 to November 2026. BepiColombo is named after Giuseppe "Bepi" Colombo (1920–1984),
280-566: A "tenuous surface-bounded exosphere " containing hydrogen , helium , oxygen , sodium , calcium , potassium and other trace elements. Its exosphere is not stable as atoms are continuously lost and replenished from a variety of sources. The mission will study the exosphere composition and dynamics, including generation and escape. The main objectives of the mission are: The stacked spacecraft will take eight years to position itself to enter Mercury orbit. During this time it will use solar-electric propulsion and nine gravity assists, flying past
350-579: A consequence its citizens became eligible to apply to the 2022 ESA Astronaut group , applications for which were scheduled to close one week later. The deadline was therefore extended by three weeks to allow Lithuanians a fair chance to apply. Slovakia's Associate membership came into effect on 13 October 2022, for an initial duration of seven years. The Association Agreement supersedes the European Cooperating State (ECS) Agreement, which entered into force upon Slovakia's subscription to
420-458: A full member of the ESA do so in 3 stages. First a Cooperation Agreement is signed between the country and ESA. In this stage, the country has very limited financial responsibilities. If a country wants to co-operate more fully with ESA, it signs a European Cooperating State (ECS) Agreement, albeit to be a candidate for said agreement, a country must be European. The ECS Agreement makes companies based in
490-603: A full member of the ESA on 1 January 2025, when the current Association Agreement expires. Latvia became the second current associated member on 30 June 2020, when the Association Agreement was signed by ESA Director Jan Wörner and the Minister of Education and Science of Latvia , Ilga Šuplinska in Riga . The Saeima ratified it on 27 July. In May 2021, Lithuania became the third current associated member. As
560-457: A heat flow and physical properties package, an alpha particle X-ray spectrometer , a magnetometer , a seismometer , a soil penetrating device (mole), and a micro- rover . European Space Agency The European Space Agency ( ESA ) is a 22-member intergovernmental body devoted to space exploration . With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,547 people globally as of 2023,
630-736: A major spaceport , the Guiana Space Centre at Kourou ( French Guiana ), France. The main European launch vehicle Ariane 6 will be operated through Arianespace with the 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 flies on the Space Launch System . After World War II , many European scientists left Western Europe in order to work with
700-406: A mass of 2,615 kg (5,765 lb), including 1,400 kg (3,100 lb) of xenon propellant, and is located at the base of the stack. Its role is to carry the two science orbiters to Mercury and to support them during the cruise. The MTM is equipped with a solar electric propulsion system as the main spacecraft propulsion. Its four QinetiQ -T6 ion thrusters operate singly or in pairs for
770-490: A mass of 285 kg (628 lb), including a 45 kg (99 lb) scientific payload consisting of 5 instrument groups, 4 for plasma and dust measuring run by investigators from Japan, and one magnetometer from Austria . Mio will be spin stabilized at 15 rpm with the spin axis perpendicular to the equator of Mercury. It will enter a polar orbit at an altitude of 590 × 11,640 km (370 × 7,230 mi), outside of MPO's orbit. The top and bottom of
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#1732780793903840-498: A maximum combined thrust of 290 mN, making it the most powerful ion engine array ever operated in space. The MTM supplies electrical power for the two hibernating orbiters as well as for its solar electric propulsion system thanks to two 14-metre-long (46 ft) solar panels . Depending on the probe's distance to the Sun , the generated power will range between 7 and 14 kW, each T6 requiring between 2.5 and 4.5 kW according to
910-819: A policy of "georeturn", where funds that ESA member states provide to the ESA "are returned in the form of contracts to companies in those countries." By 2015, the ESA was an intergovernmental organisation of 22 member states. The 2008 ESA budget amounted to €3.0 billion whilst the 2009 budget amounted to €3.6 billion. The total budget amounted to about €3.7 billion in 2010, €3.99 billion in 2011, €4.02 billion in 2012, €4.28 billion in 2013, €4.10 billion in 2014, €4.43 billion in 2015, €5.25 billion in 2016, €5.75 billion in 2017, €5.60 billion in 2018, €5.72 billion in 2019, €6,68 billion in 2020, €6.49 billion in 2021, €7.15 billion in 2022, €7.46 billion in 2023 and €7.79 billion in 2024. English and French are
980-484: A provision ensuring a fair industrial return to Canada. The most recent Cooperation Agreement was signed on 15 December 2010 with a term extending to 2020. For 2014, Canada's annual assessed contribution to the ESA general budget was €6,059,449 ( CAD$ 8,559,050). For 2017, Canada has increased its annual contribution to €21,600,000 ( CAD$ 30,000,000). The ESA is funded from annual contributions by national governments of members as well as from an annual contribution by
1050-738: A star-mapping mission, was launched in 1989 and in the 1990s SOHO , Ulysses and the Hubble Space Telescope were all jointly carried out with NASA. Later scientific missions in cooperation with NASA include the Cassini–Huygens space probe, to which the ESA contributed by building the Titan landing module Huygens . As the successor of ELDO , the ESA has also constructed rockets for scientific and commercial payloads. Ariane 1 , launched in 1979, carried mostly commercial payloads into orbit from 1984 onward. The next two versions of
1120-583: A total data volume of 1550 Gbit /year. ESA's Cebreros, Spain 35-metre (115 ft) ground station is planned to be the primary ground facility for communications during all mission phases. The science payload of the Mercury Planetary Orbiter consists of eleven instruments: Mio , or the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO), developed and built mostly by Japan , has the shape of a short octagonal prism, 180 cm (71 in) long from face to face and 90 cm (35 in) high. It has
1190-715: A while already and which gives effect to these. Thanks Jan for your hand of friendship and making this possible." The ESA currently has two operational launch vehicles Vega-C and Ariane 6 . Rocket launches are carried out by Arianespace , which has 23 shareholders representing the industry that manufactures the Ariane 5 as well as CNES , at the ESA's Guiana Space Centre . Because many communication satellites have equatorial orbits, launches from French Guiana are able to take larger payloads into space than from spaceports at higher latitudes . In addition, equatorial launches give spacecraft an extra 'push' of nearly 500 m/s due to
1260-524: Is at an advanced stage" with these nations and that "prospects for mutual benefits are existing". A separate space exploration strategy resolution calls for further co-operation with the United States, Russia and China on " LEO exploration, including a continuation of ISS cooperation and the development of a robust plan for the coordinated use of space transportation vehicles and systems for exploration purposes, participation in robotic missions for
1330-576: Is capable of carrying a payload with a mass of between 300 and 1500 kg to an altitude of 700 km, for low polar orbit . Its maiden launch from Kourou was on 13 February 2012. Vega began full commercial exploitation in December 2015. The rocket has three solid propulsion stages and a liquid propulsion upper stage (the AVUM ) for accurate orbital insertion and the ability to place multiple payloads into different orbits. A larger version of
1400-482: Is deflected towards Venus. Two consecutive Venus flybys reduce the perihelion near to the Sun–Mercury distance with almost no need for thrust. A sequence of six Mercury flybys will lower the relative velocity to 1.76 km/s (1.09 mi/s). After the fourth Mercury flyby, the craft will be in an orbit similar to that of Mercury and will remain in the general vicinity of Mercury (see [1] ). Four final thrust arcs reduce
1470-544: Is expected to be greater than one year. The reaction and control system is based on cold gas thrusters . After its release in Mercury orbit, Mio will be operated by Sagamihara Space Operation Center using Usuda Deep Space Center 's 64 m (210 ft) antenna located in Nagano, Japan . Mio carries five groups of science instruments with a total mass of 45 kg (99 lb): The Mercury Surface Element (MSE)
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#17327807939031540-514: Is planned to be the primary ground facility for communications during all mission phases. Expected to arrive in Mercury orbit in November 2026, the Mio and MPO satellites will separate and observe Mercury in collaboration for one year, with a possible one-year extension. The orbiters are equipped with scientific instruments provided by various European countries and Japan. The mission will characterize
1610-595: The Ariane 6 , is under development and had a successful long-firing engine test in November 2023. The ESA plans for the Ariane 6 to launch in June or July 2024. The beginning of the new millennium saw the ESA become, along with agencies like NASA, JAXA , ISRO , the CSA and Roscosmos , one of the major participants in scientific space research . Although the ESA had relied on co-operation with NASA in previous decades, especially
1680-462: The European Union (EU). The budget of the ESA was €5.250 billion in 2016. Every 3–4 years, ESA member states agree on a budget plan for several years at an ESA member states conference. This plan can be amended in future years, however provides the major guideline for the ESA for several years. The 2016 budget allocations for major areas of the ESA activity are shown in the chart on
1750-524: The ISS partnership. The ESA maintains its scientific and research projects mainly for astronomy-space missions such as Corot , launched on 27 December 2006, a milestone in the search for exoplanets . On 21 January 2019, ArianeGroup and Arianespace announced a one-year contract with the ESA to study and prepare for a mission to mine the Moon for lunar regolith . In 2021 the ESA ministerial council agreed to
1820-416: The Sun at a low incidence angle in order to generate adequate power while at the same time limiting the temperature. The MPO will carry a payload of 11 instruments, comprising cameras, spectrometers ( IR , UV , X-ray , γ-ray , neutron ), a radiometer, a laser altimeter, a magnetometer, particle analysers, a Ka-band transponder, and an accelerometer. The payload components are mounted on the nadir side of
1890-510: The provisional designation 2020 GL 2 . The mission involves three components, which will separate into independent spacecraft upon arrival at Mercury. During the launch and cruise phases, these three components are joined together to form the Mercury Cruise System (MCS). The prime contractor for ESA is Airbus Defence and Space . ESA is responsible for the overall mission, the design, development assembly and test of
1960-452: The " Matosinhos manifesto" which set three priority areas (referred to as accelerators ) "space for a green future, a rapid and resilient crisis response, and the protection of space assets", and two further high visibility projects (referred to as inspirators ) an icy moon sample return mission; and human space exploration. In the same year the recruitment process began for the 2022 European Space Agency Astronaut Group . 1 July 2023 saw
2030-565: The 1990s, changed circumstances (such as tough legal restrictions on information sharing by the United States military ) led to decisions to rely more on itself and on co-operation with Russia. A 2011 press issue thus stated: Russia is ESA's first partner in its efforts to ensure long-term access to space. There is a framework agreement between ESA and the government of the Russian Federation on cooperation and partnership in
2100-486: The Ariane rocket were intermediate stages in the development of a more advanced launch system, the Ariane 4 , which operated between 1988 and 2003 and established the ESA as the world leader in commercial space launches in the 1990s. Although the succeeding Ariane 5 experienced a failure on its first flight, it has since firmly established itself within the heavily competitive commercial space launch market with 112 successful launches until 2021. The successor launch vehicle,
2170-511: The ESA as full members. Since October 2022 there have been five associate members: Slovenia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Canada. The four European members have shown interest in full membership and may eventually apply within the next years. Since 2016, Slovenia has been an associated member of the ESA. In November 2023 Slovenia formally applied for full membership. In June 2024 Prime Minister Robert Golob and Director General Josef Aschbacher have signed an agreement that will see Slovenia become
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2240-427: The ESA is an international organization, unaffiliated with any single nation, any form of legal action is difficult to raise against the organization. Member states participate to varying degrees with both mandatory space programs and those that are optional. As of 2008 , the mandatory programmes made up 25% of total expenditures while optional space programmes were the other 75%. The ESA has traditionally implemented
2310-554: The ESA is not the only European governmental space organisation (for example European Union Satellite Centre and the European Union Space Programme Agency ). After the decision of the ESA Council of 21/22 March 2001, the procedure for accession of the European states was detailed as described the document titled "The Plan for European Co-operating States (PECS)". Nations that want to become
2380-498: The ESA was founded in 1975. Its 2024 annual budget was €7.8 billion. The ESA's space flight programme includes human spaceflight (mainly through participation in the International Space Station program); the launch and operation of crewless exploration missions to other planets (such as Mars ) and the Moon; Earth observation, science and telecommunication; designing launch vehicles ; and maintaining
2450-457: The ESA's documents, the staff can receive myriad of perks, such as financial childcare support, retirement plans, and financial help when migrating. The ESA also prevents employees from disclosing any private documents or correspondences to outside parties. Ars Technica ' s 2023 report, which contained testimonies of 18 people, suggested that there is a widespread harassment between management and its employees, especially with its contractors. Since
2520-534: The Earth and Moon in April 2020, Venus in 2020 and 2021, and six Mercury flybys between 2021 and 2025. The stacked spacecraft left Earth with a hyperbolic excess velocity of 3.475 km/s (2.159 mi/s). Initially, the craft was placed in a heliocentric orbit similar to that of Earth. After both the spacecraft and Earth completed one and a half orbits, it returned to Earth to perform a gravity-assist maneuver and
2590-579: The European Space Agency reads: The purpose of the Agency shall be to provide for and to promote, for exclusively peaceful purposes, cooperation among European States in space research and technology and their space applications, with a view to their being used for scientific purposes and for operational space applications systems… The ESA is responsible for setting a unified space and related industrial policy, recommending space objectives to
2660-594: The MTM, the MPO will provide Mio all necessary power and data resources until Mio is delivered to its mission orbit; separation of Mio from MPO will be accomplished by spin-ejection. The Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) has a mass of 1,150 kg (2,540 lb) and uses a single-sided solar array capable of providing up to 1000 watts and featuring Optical Solar Reflectors to keep its temperature below 200 °C (392 °F). The solar array requires continuous rotation keeping
2730-603: The Netherlands , Spain , Sweden , Switzerland , and the United Kingdom . These signed the ESA Convention in 1975 and deposited the instruments of ratification by 1980, when the convention came into force. During this interval the agency functioned in a de facto fashion. The ESA launched its first major scientific mission in 1975, Cos-B , a space probe monitoring gamma-ray emissions in the universe, which
2800-644: The Plan for European Cooperating States Charter on 4 February 2016, a scheme introduced at ESA in 2001. The ECS Agreement was subsequently extended until 3 August 2022. Since 1 January 1979, Canada has had the special status of a Cooperating State within the ESA. By virtue of this accord, the Canadian Space Agency takes part in the ESA's deliberative bodies and decision-making and also in the ESA's programmes and activities. Canadian firms can bid for and receive contracts to work on programmes. The accord has
2870-461: The United States. Although the 1950s boom made it possible for Western European countries to invest in research and specifically in space-related activities, Western European scientists realised solely national projects would not be able to compete with the two main superpowers. In 1958, only months after the Sputnik shock , Edoardo Amaldi (Italy) and Pierre Auger (France), two prominent members of
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2940-755: The Vega launcher, Vega-C had its first flight in July 2022. The new evolution of the rocket incorporates a larger first stage booster, the P120C replacing the P80 , an upgraded Zefiro (rocket stage) second stage, and the AVUM+ upper stage. This new variant enables larger single payloads, dual payloads, return missions, and orbital transfer capabilities. Historically, the Ariane family rockets have been funded primarily "with money contributed by ESA governments seeking to participate in
3010-536: The Western European scientific community, met to discuss the foundation of a common Western European space agency. The meeting was attended by scientific representatives from eight countries. The Western European nations decided to have two agencies: one concerned with developing a launch system, ELDO (European Launcher Development Organisation), and the other the precursor of the European Space Agency, ESRO (European Space Research Organisation). The latter
3080-490: The cooperation were laid out in a framework agreement signed by the two entities. On 17 November 2020, ESA signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the South African National Space Agency (SANSA). SANSA CEO Dr. Valanathan Munsami tweeted: "Today saw another landmark event for SANSA with the signing of an MoU with the ESA. This builds on initiatives that we have been discussing for
3150-573: The country eligible for participation in ESA procurements. The country can also participate in all ESA programmes, except for the Basic Technology Research Programme. While the financial contribution of the country concerned increases, it is still much lower than that of a full member state. The agreement is normally followed by a Plan For European Cooperating State (or PECS Charter). This is a 5-year programme of basic research and development activities aimed at improving
3220-425: The desired thrust level. The solar electric propulsion system has typically very high specific impulse and low thrust . This leads to a flight profile with months-long continuous low-thrust braking phases, interrupted by planetary gravity assists , to gradually reduce the velocity of the spacecraft. Moments before Mercury orbit insertion, the MTM will be jettisoned from the spacecraft stack. After separation from
3290-466: The exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes, and cooperation is already underway in two different areas of launcher activity that will bring benefits to both partners. Notable ESA programmes include SMART-1 , a probe testing cutting-edge space propulsion technology, the Mars Express and Venus Express missions, as well as the development of the Ariane 5 rocket and its role in
3360-582: The exploration of the Moon, the robotic exploration of Mars, leading to a broad Mars Sample Return mission in which Europe should be involved as a full partner, and human missions beyond LEO in the longer term." In August 2019, the ESA and the Australian Space Agency signed a joint statement of intent "to explore deeper cooperation and identify projects in a range of areas including deep space, communications, navigation, remote asset management, data analytics and mission support." Details of
3430-403: The following programmes, becoming 'Participating States', listed according to: As of 2023, Many other facilities are operated by national space agencies in close collaboration with the ESA. The ESA employs around 2,547 people, and thousands of contractors. Initially, new employees are contracted for an expandable four-year term, which is until the organization's retirement age of 63. According to
3500-416: The future. The ESA describes its work in two overlapping ways: These are either mandatory or optional. According to the ESA website, the activities are: Every member country (known as 'Member States') must contribute to these programmes: The European Space Agency Science Programme is a long-term programme of space science missions. Depending on their individual choices the countries can contribute to
3570-439: The higher rotational velocity of the Earth at the equator compared to near the Earth's poles where rotational velocity approaches zero. Ariane 6 is a heavy lift expendable launch vehicle developed by Arianespace . The Ariane 6 entered into its inaugural flight campaign on 26 April 2024 with the flight conducted on 9 July 2024. Vega is the ESA's carrier for small satellites. Developed by seven ESA members led by Italy . It
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#17327807939033640-567: The launch of the Euclid spacecraft , developed jointly with the Euclid Consortium, after 10 years of planning and building it is designed to better understand dark energy and dark matter by accurately measuring the accelerating expansion of the universe . The agency's facilities date back to ESRO and are deliberately distributed among various countries and areas. The most important are the following centres: The treaty establishing
3710-553: The member states, and integrating national programs like satellite development, into the European program as much as possible. Jean-Jacques Dordain – ESA's Director General (2003–2015) – outlined the European Space Agency's mission in a 2003 interview: Today space activities have pursued the benefit of citizens, and citizens are asking for a better quality of life on Earth. They want greater security and economic wealth, but they also want to pursue their dreams, to increase their knowledge, and they want younger people to be attracted to
3780-682: The nation's space industry capacity. At the end of the 5-year period, the country can either begin negotiations to become a full member state or an associated state or sign a new PECS Charter. Many countries, most of which joined the EU in both 2004 and 2007, have started to co-operate with the ESA on various levels: During the Ministerial Meeting in December 2014, ESA ministers approved a resolution calling for discussions to begin with Israel, Australia and South Africa on future association agreements. The ministers noted that "concrete cooperation
3850-470: The octagon act as radiators with louvers for active temperature control. The sides are covered with solar cells which provide 90 watts. Communications with Earth will be through a 0.8 m (2 ft 7 in) diameter X-band phased array high-gain antenna and two medium-gain antennas operating in the X-band. Telemetry will return 160 Gb /year, about 5 kbit/s over the lifetime of the spacecraft, which
3920-423: The program rather than through competitive industry bids. This [has meant that] governments commit multiyear funding to the development with the expectation of a roughly 90% return on investment in the form of industrial workshare." ESA is proposing changes to this scheme by moving to competitive bids for the development of the Ariane 6 . Gravitational field Too Many Requests If you report this error to
3990-667: The propulsion and MPO modules, and the launch. The two orbiters, which are operated by mission controllers based in Darmstadt, Germany, were successfully launched together on 20 October 2018. The launch took place on Ariane flight VA245 from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. The spacecraft will have a seven-year interplanetary cruise to Mercury using solar-electric propulsion ( ion thrusters ) and gravity assists from Earth, Venus and eventual gravity capture at Mercury . ESA's Cebreros, Spain 35-metre (115 ft) ground station
4060-404: The propulsion unit would be ejected, airbags inflated, and the module would fall to the surface with a maximum impact velocity of 30 m/s (98 ft/s). Scientific data would be stored onboard and relayed via a cross-dipole UHF antenna to either the MPO or Mio . The MSE would have carried a 7 kg (15 lb) payload consisting of an imaging system (a descent camera and a surface camera),
4130-402: The pursuit of science and technology. I think that space can do all of this: it can produce a higher quality of life, better security, more economic wealth, and also fulfill our citizens' dreams and thirst for knowledge, and attract the young generation. This is the reason space exploration is an integral part of overall space activities. It has always been so, and it will be even more important in
4200-441: The relative velocity to the point where Mercury will "weakly" capture the spacecraft in November 2026 into polar orbit . Only a small maneuver is needed to bring the craft into an orbit around Mercury with an apocentre of 178,000 kilometres (111,000 mi). The orbiters then separate and will adjust their orbits using chemical thrusters. The BepiColombo mission proposal was selected by ESA in 2000. A request for proposals for
4270-410: The research and development milestones reached thus far, and wishes for safe travel ahead. JAXA said the spacecraft will travel through the solar wind just like a ship traveling through the ocean. In Chinese and Japanese, Mercury is known as the "water star" (水星) according to wǔxíng . Following its Earth flyby in April 2020, BepiColombo was briefly mistaken for a near-Earth asteroid , receiving
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#17327807939034340-479: The right. Countries typically have their own space programmes that differ in how they operate organisationally and financially with the ESA. For example, the French space agency CNES has a total budget of €2,015 million, of which €755 million is paid as direct financial contribution to the ESA. Several space-related projects are joint projects between national space agencies and the ESA (e.g. COROT ). Also,
4410-451: The science payload was issued in 2004. In 2007, Astrium was selected as the prime contractor, and Ariane 5 chosen as the launch vehicle . The initial target launch of July 2014 was postponed several times, mostly because of delays on the development of the solar electric propulsion system. The total cost of the mission was estimated in 2017 as US$ 2 billion. As of 2021, the mission schedule is: The Mercury Transfer Module (MTM) has
4480-516: The solid and liquid iron core ( 3 ⁄ 4 of the planet's radius) and determine the size of each. The mission will also complete gravitational and magnetic field mappings. Russia provided gamma ray and neutron spectrometers to verify the existence of water ice in polar craters that are permanently in shadow from the Sun's rays. Mercury is too small and hot for its gravity to retain any significant atmosphere over long periods of time, but it has
4550-532: The spacecraft to achieve low detector temperatures, apart from the MERTIS and PHEBUS spectrometers located directly at the main radiator to provide a better field of view. A high-temperature-resistant 1.0 m (3 ft 3 in) diameter high-gain antenna is mounted on a short boom on the zenith side of the spacecraft. Communications will be on the X-band and Ka-band with an average bit rate of 50 kbit/s and
4620-679: The two official languages of the ESA. Additionally, official documents are also provided in German and documents regarding the Spacelab have been also provided in Italian. If found appropriate, the agency may conduct its correspondence in any language of a member state. The following table lists all the member states and adjunct members, their ESA convention ratification dates, and their contributions as of 2024: Previously associated members were Austria, Norway and Finland, all of which later joined
4690-458: Was cancelled in 2003 due to budgetary constraints. At the time of cancellation, MSE was meant to be a small, 44 kg (97 lb), lander designed to operate for about one week on the surface of Mercury. Shaped as a 0.9 m (2 ft 11 in) diameter disc, it was designed to land at a latitude of 85° near the terminator region. Braking manoeuvres would bring the lander to zero velocity at an altitude of 120 m (390 ft) at which point
4760-480: Was established on 20 March 1964 by an agreement signed on 14 June 1962. From 1968 to 1972, ESRO launched seven research satellites, but ELDO was not able to deliver a launch vehicle. Both agencies struggled with the underfunding and diverging interests of their participants. The ESA in its current form was founded with the ESA Convention in 1975, when ESRO was merged with ELDO. The ESA had ten founding member states: Belgium , Denmark , France , West Germany , Italy ,
4830-497: Was first worked on by ESRO. The ESA collaborated with NASA on the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE), the world's first high-orbit telescope, which was launched in 1978 and operated successfully for 18 years. A number of successful Earth-orbit projects followed, and in 1986 the ESA began Giotto , its first deep-space mission, to study the comets Halley and Grigg–Skjellerup . Hipparcos ,
4900-439: Was launched on an Ariane 5 rocket on 20 October 2018 at 01:45 UTC , with an arrival at Mercury planned for November 2026, after a flyby of Earth , two flybys of Venus , and six flybys of Mercury. The mission was approved in November 2009, after years in proposal and planning as part of the European Space Agency's Horizon 2000+ programme; it is the last mission of the programme to be launched. On 15 May 2024, ESA reported that
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