The European Space Agency (ESA) was created in 1975, by the merging of the European Launcher Development Organisation (ELDO) and European Space Research Organisation (ESRO). ESA had ten founding member states: Belgium, Denmark, France, West Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

Today it is an intergovernmental organisation of 22 member states dedicated to the exploration of space and headquartered in Paris. ESA's space flight programme includes human spaceflight (mainly through participation in the International Space Station programme); the launch and operation of uncrewed exploration missions to other planets and the Moon; Earth observation, science and telecommunication; designing launch vehicles; and maintaining a major spaceport, the Guiana Space Centre at Kourou, French Guiana. The main European launch vehicle Ariane 5 is operated through Arianespace with 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 will fly on the Space Launch System.

The European Space Agency Science Programme is a long-term programme of space science and space exploration missions.