European Space Agency

space exploration · international teamwork · Europe

23 countries together. The European Space Agency brings together 23 different countries to work as a team on space missions. This is like having 23 different soccer teams playing on the same squad to reach for the stars.

Headquarters in Paris. The ESA is run from Paris, France, and has about 3,000 people working for it around the world. These scientists and engineers design spacecraft and plan amazing missions to learn about space.

Founded in 1975. The European Space Agency was created in 1975 when European countries decided to work together on space exploration. This was during a time when Europe wanted to cooperate and unite on big projects.

Huge budget for discovery. In 2026, the ESA gets about 8.3 billion euros to spend on space missions and research. That is a lot of money dedicated to helping us understand the universe better.