For the first time, the digital content of the historical collections of the ESA Archives will be made freely available in just one place – historicalarchives.esa.int. This first release opens the pictures collections of the Archives to the public today.

This site is result of years of digitisation activities, and brings the current digital holdings of the ESA Archives together on one platform. That includes material held at both the European Centre for Space Records (in particular the ESA pictures collections documenting the stories from the very first years of the ESA journey) and the archival fonds deposited with our partners at the Historical Archives of the European Union, hosted at the European University Institute in Florence.

Of course, the content you can find today is just the beginning and the opening of our archives will be pursued in successive waves. Working within the wider context and ambition of the ESA Digital Agenda for Space, our Archives team will be continuing its ongoing digitisation activities, and we will be adding new collections frequently. And we’ll also be developing other resources on Europe’s legacy in space and highlighting each month some of the hidden treasures in our care.

We hope this will become a rich resource for researching, understanding and promoting Europe’s story in space, its impact on our European cultural and scientific identity, and the value of cooperation.