Elevating Europe in space for fifty years

On 30 May 1975, the Convention was signed by 10 founding Member States and has since now expanded to 23 Member States, three Associate Members, four Cooperating States and a Cooperation Agreement with Canada. This demonstrates the continuous attractiveness of ESA for its stakeholders.

This anniversary year provides the opportunity to reflect not only on ESA’s past achievements but also on its future perspectives. With the development of the ‘ESA 2040’ Strategy and the preparation of the upcoming ESA Ministerial Council (CM25), two cornerstones are already set for shaping the 50th anniversary celebrations. The historically induced, but even more politically future-oriented series of activities are expected to lead to:

  • a general political and public visibility of ESA and provide a source of inspiration for the next generations;
  • an opportunity to communicate the achievements of ESA, the benefits our mechanisms and output as well as our ambitions and importance for Europe;
  • an opportunity to demonstrate the key role of ESA in the European space efforts in the past, the present and the future, as well as overall in the process of European integration;
  • a milestone to a successful ESA Ministerial Council in November 2025.

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