 Aerial view of ESAC | |
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| Abbreviation | ESAC |
|---|---|
| Type | IGO |
| Location | |
| Leader | Carole Mundell (Director) |
Parent organization | European Space Agency |
| Website | www |
| Remarks | ESAC is one of nine establishments operated by ESA[1] |
TheEuropean Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC) nearMadrid in Spain is a research centre of theEuropean Space Agency (ESA). ESAC is the lead institution forspace science (astronomy, Solar System exploration and fundamental physics) using ESA missions. It hosts the science operation centres for allESA astronomy and planetary missions and their scientificdata archives. ESA'sCebreros Station deep-space communication antennas are located nearby.
ESAC is located nearVillafranca del Castillo [es], within the municipal limits ofVillanueva de la Cañada, is located 30 km west of Madrid in theGuadarrama Valley. The site is surrounded bylight woodland and is adjacent to the ruins of the 15th-centuryAulencia Castle [es].
Past and present missions handled from ESAC include (in alphabetical order):Akari,BepiColombo,Cassini–Huygens,Cluster,Exomars,Gaia,Herschel Space Observatory,Hubble Space Telescope,ISO,INTEGRAL,IUE,James Webb Space Telescope,LISA Pathfinder,Mars Express,Planck,Rosetta,SOHO,Solar Orbiter,Venus Express, andXMM-Newton.
Future missions include:Athena,Euclid,JUICE, andPlato.
In addition to deep space and solar system exploration, ESAC hosts the data processing ofSMOS, a satellite observing the Earth, and the CESAR educational programme.
ESAC is also involved in ESA missions conducted in collaboration with other space agencies. One example isAkari, a Japanese-led mission to carry out an infrared sky survey, launched on 21 February 2006. Collaborative programmes include theNASA-ledJames Webb Space Telescope, the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope.
An ESA radioground station for communication with spacecraft is located inCebreros,Avila, about 90 km from Madrid and 65 km from ESAC. This installation provides essential support to the activities of ESAC. Inaugurated in September 2005, Cebreros has a 35-metre antenna used to communicate with distant missions to Mercury, Venus, Mars and beyond.
TheMadrid Deep Space Communications Complex is also located nearby, operated by theInstituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial. It is a station of theDeep Space Network used primarily for NASA missions, but sometimes supplements Cebreros in communicating with ESA spacecraft. It has a 70-metre antenna, six 34-m antennae and one 26-m antenna.
Two 15-metre radio antennae are located on the ESAC site, but were decommissioned in 2017.[2]
ESAC also hosts a branch of theSpanish Astrobiology Center (CAB).[3]
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