The European Space Agency (ESA) operates a number of space missions, both individually and in collaborations with other space agencies such as U.S. NASA, Japanese JAXA, Chinese CNSA, as well as space agencies of ESA member states (eg. French CNES, Italian ASI, German DLR, Polish POLSA). ESA organizes its missions into various budgetary programmes. This list follows the divisions of the Science Programme, the FutureEO Programme, and the Space Safety Programme. Missions from other programmes, such as Terrae Novae, FLPP, GSTP, or ARTES, are listed in loosely thematic categories.

The current iteration of ESA's Science Programme is the Cosmic Vision Programme, a series of space science missions chosen by ESA to launch through competitions, similar to NASA's Discovery and New Frontiers programmes. It follows the Horizon 2000 and Horizon 2000+ programmes which launched notable missions such as Huygens (Titan lander), Rosetta (comet orbiter and lander), and Gaia (astrometry telescope). These missions are divided into two categories: "Sun and Solar System", space probes studying the Solar System (eg. Solar Orbiter studying the Sun and JUICE currently on its way to Jupiter) and "Astrophysics", space telescopes contributing to interstellar astronomy (eg. CHEOPS characterising exoplanets and Euclid focused on dark matter and dark energy). The Cosmic Vision Programme will be followed by Voyage 2050.https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/voyage-2050/updates

A similarly operated programme focused on Earth observation, known as FutureEO, has launched various "Earth Explorer" satellites, which serve many aspects of Geoscience, often related to climate change. These include eg. GOCE and Swarm studying Earth's gravitational and magnetic fields, CryoSat-2 studying Earth's polar ice caps, and EarthCARE characterising clouds and aerosols in the atmosphere. The Earth Explorer missions are complemented by a series of smaller "Scout" satellites starting with HydroGNSS launched in late 2025.

A number of Solar System, Astrophysics, and Earth observation missions by ESA have operated outside of these programmes, such as Giotto, Ulysses, Mars Express, Hipparcos, or Envisat. ESA also takes part in human spaceflight missions of other space agencies and commercial partners, eg. by providing European astronauts and major hardware components to the Space Shuttle, Mir, ISS, and Artemis programmes and supporting the Gaganyyan programme. ESA works with European space industry on development of launch vehicles and reentry systems like the Ariane and Vega rockets and the Space Rider spaceplane. Together with other European institutions, ESA develops and operates various satellite constellations for Earth observation, meteorology, communication, and navigation, eg. Meteosat, Sentinel, Galileo, or EDRS. ESA's portfolio also includes public-private partnerships with European satellite operators such as Eutelsat and Inmarsat. Horizon 2000 Programme

Cornerstone missions Cornerstone 1 – SOHO, launched December 1995, – Joint ESA–NASA Solar observation mission providing real-time data for space weather forecasting. Cornerstone 1 – Cluster, launched June 1996, – Earth observation mission using four identical spacecraft to study the planet's magnetosphere. Failed on launch. Re-launch – Cluster II, launched July and August 2000, – Successful replacement mission. Cornerstone 2 – XMM-Newton, launched December 1999, – An X-ray space telescope, studying the full range of cosmic X-ray sources. Cornerstone 3 – Rosetta, launched March 2004, – 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko orbiter mission, studying comets and their evolution. Cornerstone 4 – Herschel, launched May 2009, – Infrared space observatory mission for general astronomy.

Medium-sized missions Medium 1 – Huygens, launched October 1997, – Titan lander component of the Cassini–Huygens mission; first landing in the outer solar system. Medium 2 – INTEGRAL, launched October 2002, – Gamma ray space observatory, also capable of observing X-ray and visible wavelengths. Medium 3 – Planck, launched May 2009, – Cosmology mission that mapped the cosmic microwave background and its anisotropies.

Horizon 2000+ Mission 1 – Gaia, launched December 2013, – Astrometry mission measuring positions and distances of over one billion objects in the Milky Way. Mission 2 – LISA Pathfinder, launched December 2015, – Demonstration of technologies for the Cosmic Vision LISA Gravitational-wave observatory mission. Mission 3 – BepiColombo, launched October 2018, – Joint ESA–JAXA reconnaissance mission to Mercury, using two unique spacecraft operating respectively.

Cosmic Vision Programme

S-class missions S1 – CHEOPS, launched December 2019, – space telescope mission focused on studying known exoplanets. S2 – SMILE, launched May 2026, – Joint ESA–CAS Earth observation mission, studying the interaction between the planet's magnetosphere and solar wind.

M-class missions M1 – Solar Orbiter, launched February 2020, – Solar observatory mission, designed to perform in-situ studies of the Sun at a perihelion of 0.28 astronomical units. M2 – Euclid, launched July 2023, – Visible and near-infrared space observatory mission focused on dark matter and dark energy. M3 – PLATO, launching 2027, – Kepler-like space observatory mission, aimed at discovering and observing exoplanets. M4 – ARIEL, launching 2031, – Planck-based space observatory mission studying the atmosphere of known exoplanets. M5 – EnVision, launching 2031, – Venus mapping orbiter mission.

L-class missions L1 – Juice, launched April 2023 with an orbital insertion in July 2031, – Jupiter orbiter mission, focused on studying the Galilean moons Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. L2 – Athena, launching 2037, – X-ray space observatory mission, designed as a successor to the XMM-Newton telescope. L3 – LISA, launching 2035, – the first dedicated gravitational wave space observatory mission.

F-class missions F1 – Comet Interceptor, launching in 2028 or 2029, – Comet flyby mission.ESA to Launch Comet Interceptor Mission in 2028. Emily Lakdawalla, The Planetary Society. 21 June 2019. F2 – ARRAKIHS, launching in the early 2030s, – Survey of one hundred nearby galaxies and their surroundings to investigate dwarf galaxies and stellar streams.

Voyage 2050 The Voyage 2050 programme is the successor to the Cosmic Vision programme within ESA's Science Programme for the period 2035–2050.

M-class missions

M7 – Plasma Observatory, launching in 2037, – Multi-spacecraft space weather mission.

L-class missions L4 – Enceladus mission, launching in 2042, – Fly-bys of Saturn's icy moons, sampling of Enceladus's plumes, orbiting Enceladus, and landing on Enceladus.

FutureEO

Earth Explorer missions Earth Explorer 1 – GOCE, launched March 2009, – Gravimetry mission, aimed at accurately mapping Earth's gravity field. Earth Explorer 2 – SMOS, launched November 2009, – Climatology mission, focused on studying Earth's water cycle and climate. Earth Explorer 3 – CryoSat-2, launched April 2010, – Environmental science and glaciology mission, focused on studying Earth's polar ice caps. Successful relaunch of the failed CryoSat mission. Earth Explorer 4 – Swarm, launched November 2013, – Magnetosphere mission, carried out by a trio of spacecraft launched to study Earth's magnetic field. Earth Explorer 5 – ADM-Aeolus, launched August 2018, – Meteorology mission, performed by a spacecraft equipped to create global wind component profiles to aid more advanced weather forecasting. Earth Explorer 6 – EarthCARE, launched May 2024, – Joint ESA-JAXA meteorology and climatology mission, aimed at the characterization of clouds and aerosols, along with measurements of reflected and emitted radiation from Earth's surface. Earth Explorer 7 – Biomass, launched in April 2025, – Ecology mission, studying the carbon cycle and forest ecology, observing the development of forests and their characteristics. Earth Explorer 8 – FLEX, launched in September 2026, – Biology mission, aimed at measuring the amount of chlorophyll fluorescence in terrestrial vegetation. Earth Explorer 9 – FORUM, launching 2027, – Climatology mission, aimed at measuring far-infrared outgoing radiation emissions in order to understand Earth's surface temperature regulation. Earth Explorer 10 – Harmony, launching 2029, – Formation flying synthetic aperture radar mission. Earth Explorer 11 – Wivern, launching NET 2032, – Wind Velocity Radar Nephoscope; a mission to measure cloud wind velocity, rain, snow, and ice water via a Doppler weather radar nephoscope, in order to improve weather forecast models.

Scout missions Scout missions, launching 2025 onward, are a series of small Earth observation satellites complementing the Earth Explorer missions. Scout 1 – CubeMAP, – quantifying processes in the upper-atmosphere Scout 2 – HydroGNSS, launched in 2025, – two identical satellites sensing Galileo and GPS signals reflected by Earth's surface for improving the knowledge of Earth's hydrological cycle Scout 3 – NanoMagSat, launching in 2027, – measuring the ionospheric environment, monitoring Earth’s magnetic field Scout 4 – Tango, – monitoring three greenhouse gases: methane, carbon dioxide and nitrogen dioxide being emitted from large industrial sites Hibidis, – monitoring Essential Biodiversity Variables with hyperspectral imaging SOVA-S, – studying atmospheric gravity waves in order to improve climate and space weather modelling

Phi-sats

Phi-Sat-1, launched in 2020, – technology demonstration cubesat Phi-Sat-2, launched in 2024, – technology demonstration cubesat

Space Safety Programme (S2P)

Hera, launched in October 2024, – European asteroid probe aimed at studying the effects of a NEO's impact created by NASA's DART mission using 65803 Didymos's moon (Dimorphos) as a target

Draco, launching in 2027, – small space capsule monitoring the breakup and demise processes of a re-entering satellite SWING, launching in 2027, – ionosphere monitoring mission PRELUDE, launching in 2027, – in-orbit demonstration of space manoeuvres and relative navigation technologies for active debris removal SAWA, launching in 2028, – thermosphere monitoring mission Ramses, launching in April 2028, – mission to the near-Earth asteroid 99942 Apophis ClearSpace-1, launching in 2029, – space debris removal demonstration mission with the objective of deorbiting PROBA-1 CREAM in-orbit demonstration, launch planned for 2028, – automated collision avoidance demonstration mission OPTIMIST, launch planned for 2028, – registering tiny space debris test RISE, launching in 2029, – in-orbit servicing demonstration mission Aurora-D & Aurora-C, first launch planned for 2030, – a demonstrator satellite and a satellite constellation for Auroral oval monitoring SAILOR, – space debris monitoring satellites using solar sail-like foils as impact detectors Visdoms-S, launch planned for 2030, – optical observation of space debris Satis, launch planned for 2030, – cubesat mission an asteroid CAT (CApTure Payload Bay), launch planned for 2030, – joint ESA-AEE mission to test a standardised docking interface for satellite removal ERASE, launch planned for 2030, – removal of a large satellite Vigil, launching in 2031, – space weather mission to the Sun-Earth Lagrange point 5 Ecostars, launch planned for 2031, – Ecodesign technologies test Circular Economy I, launch planned for 2031, – in-orbit refurbishment mission LEMO demonstrator, launch planned for 2032, – cis-lunar debris monitoring mission Precision Asteroid Nudging, launch planned for 2032, – ion-beam asteroid deflection test SWORD, launching in 2032, – two satellites in GTO-like orbit monitoring Earth's radiation belts NEOMIR, launch planned for 2030s, – asteroid-detecting space telescope in the Sun-Earth L1 point SHIELD, launch planned for 2030s, – CME advanced warning mission