Understanding our origins

Understanding our origins and Earth’s place in the Universe is at the heart of ESA’s science programme. From Rosetta’s exploration of comets that formed at the dawn of the Solar System to peering back even further in time to the light from the first stars and galaxies with Webb, ESA has sought answers to fundamental questions.

Soon, a trio of exoplanet missions – Cheops, Plato and Ariel – will analyse thousands of solar systems beyond our own, and over the next decades, today’s ‘Cosmic Vision’ missions will evolve to the ‘Voyage 2050’ plan. ESA missions will probe the early Universe, galaxy and Solar System, helping us understand if life could have evolved elsewhere.