Figure 1 – Provenance of the ESA budget for 2016 (in € million)

All ESA member states participate in the mandatory programme covering scientific research activities. Each member state can also participate in optional programmes on launcher development, and space applications research and development (R&D), such as earth observation, navigation, telecommunications, human spaceflight and exploration. The mandatory programme initially represented the largest part of ESA activities but is now limited to around 15 % of the budget. ESA also acts as the implementing agency for EU space programmes. In 2016, member state contributions represented 71 % of ESA’s €5.2 billion budget. EU contributions make up 25 % of the agency’s budget