List of projects of the European Space Agency

Entire list of projects of the European Space Agency:

Current projects already launched

* Artemis — Europe's most advanced telecommunication satellite.
* Corot — a space telescope for detecting rocky exoplanets larger than Earth. Launched Dec 2006. A project led by CNES
* Cluster — a group of four probes studying the magnetosphere.
* Envisat — is the world's largest and most complex environmental satellite.
* ERS-2 — is an earth-observing satellite launched in 1995. It is the successor to ERS-1.
* GIOVE-A — Experimental satellite launched Dec 2005 as forerunner for the Galileo positioning system.
*GIOVE-B — the second Galileo in-orbit validation satellite schedueled launched on April 2008
* Hubble Space Telescope — built and operated in cooperation with NASA.
* Integral — is the first space observatory that can simultaneously observe objects in gamma rays, X-rays and visible light.
* Mars Express — a space probe to Mars.
* MetOp-A — is the first polar orbiting satellite dedicated to operational meteorology. A satellite to study temperature and humidity, wind speed and direction, ozone and other trace gases on Earth.
* Rosetta — a space probe launched in 2004 that will explore comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in 2014.
* SOHO — a space-based observatory to study the sun (together with NASA).
* Ulysses — built and operated in cooperation with NASA.
* Venus Express — a space probe to Venus which was launched in Nov 2005 and arrived in orbit around Venus in April 2006.
* XMM-Newton — an X-ray observatory satellite which participates in the Cosmic Evolution Survey.

Current projects to be launched in the near future

* ADM-Aeolus — Due for launch in 2008 will measure global wind profiles
* BepiColombo space probe to Mercury (together with JAXA)
* Chandrayaan-1 Indian space probe to the Moon that will carry ESA-made instruments (to be launched July 2008)
* CryoSat-2 — a three-year radar altimetry mission planned for launch in 2009 to determine variations in the thickness of the Earth’s continental ice sheets and marine ice cover; built to replace Cryosat after launch failure.
* Don Quijote space probe planned to test deflecting an asteroid to be launched in 2011
* ExoMars Mars spacecraft and rover to be launched 2013
* Expert a flying hypersonic wind tunnel
* Galileo positioning system a proposed satellite positioning system
* Gaia, cataloging and astrometry of stars in our galaxy
* GOCE — a mission designed to measure the Earth's gravity field, schedueled to be launched October 27th, 2008
* Herschel Space Observatory a space telescope
* KEO — ESA is sponsoring the KEO satellite, which will carry messages addressed to future inhabitants of the planet Earth (a time capsule expected to return in the year 52006).
* James Webb Space Telescope — planned successor to the Hubble Space Telescope (together with NASA and the Canadian Space Agency)
* LISA Pathfinder (aka Smart-2)
* Planck Satellite — The next generation Cosmic Microwave Background explorer, after COBE & WMAP. To be launched in 2008
* SMOS — the second Earth Explorer mission planned for launch in 2008 designed to measure Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity.
* Proba-2 — the second satellite in the PROBA series, to be launched in 2008 together with SMOS

Future projects

* GMES/Sentinels (Global Monitoring for Environmental and Security), series of satellites for environment monitoring.
* Swarm, a satellite mission to measure Earth's magnetic field
* Crew Space Transportation System (CSTS), European-Russian counterpart of the Crew Exploration Vehicle
* Aurora Programme, a space exploration programme for manned and unmanned exploration of Mars and other planets in our solar system
* Cosmic Vision a programme of space science missions for 2015–2025
* XEUS, a L2-positioned X-ray observatory to perform high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy of hot matter in the evolving universe
* Darwin Mission, a L2-positioned interferometer to detect Earth-sized exoplanets (to be launched between 2015–2020)
* EADS Phoenix, a next generation glider-spacecraft funded by EADS and Germany (a study placed within the ESA next generation spacecraft program)
* FLPP, a study to evaluate potential future European launchers, reusable or expendable
* IXV, the associated reentry demonstrator to FLPP
* Mars Sample Return Mission, a Mars probe as part of the Aurora Programme
* Solar Orbiter, an orbiter to examine the polar regions of the Sun, the project is currently in an assessment phase with a prospective launch in 2015

Past projects

* Cos-B — First project of ESA after foundation (in 1975).
* Double Star Mission — probe to study effects of the sun on Earth (in cooperation with the People's Republic of China).
* ERS-1 — First Earth-observing satellite of ESA.
* Giotto mission — First deep space mission of ESA, which went to Comet Halley.
* Hipparcos — A space-based astrometry mission.
* Huygens probe — A space probe to Saturn's moon Titan.
* ISO — Infrared Space Observatory.
* IUE — Ultraviolet astronomical space observatory.
* SMART 1 — A lunar spaceprobe testing new propulsion technology.
* YES2 — a young engineers' satellite to demonstrate the use of tethers for injection into re-entry orbit of the first students re-entry capsule ever.

Cancelled projects

*Eddington mission

External links

* [http://www.esa.int ESA Portal] – official website