ESA - European Space Agency
The European Space Agency was created in 1975 as a result of the merger of ESRO (European Space Research Organization) and ELDO (European Launcher Development Organization). With Romania and Poland joining in the near future, the ESA will have 20 member states with Canada as an associate state. Like other major scientific and technological organizations, the ESA aims to aggregate the concerted efforts of several European states in defining and implementing Space Programs that are beyond the reach of an isolated nation. It is through the ESA that Europe's participation in projects of global scale is realized, as is the case of the International Space Station (ISS) and the Mars Exomars exploration mission, among many other examples.
Portugal is a member of the European Space Agency (ESA) since November 14th, 2000. FCT together with PT SPACE stimulates the activities of the Portuguese Delegation, promoting the participation of companies and national R&DT institutes in ESA Space programs, including programs implemented under the ESA-European Union Framework Agreement.
Two of ESA's distinctive features are its industrial policy and decision-making process. ESA's industrial policy is based on the fundamental principle of geographic distribution of industrial returns, which provides an important incentive for institutional investment by its member states. ESA's decision-making process is characterised by a strong involvement of all its member states in decisions affecting the Agency, regardless of the weight of their financial contribution.
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