SPACE INDEX COMPANIES INSIGHTS SECTORS PRODUCTS NEWS BLOG ANSWERS RESEARCH ABOUT FOR COMPANIES BUILD / 2026.06.04
European Space Agency logo European Space Agency Intergovernmental agency coordinating European space programs across science, Earth observation, navigation, telecommunications, and human spaceflight vs JAXA Japan's national space agency conducting launch operations, satellite development, Earth observation, asteroid exploration, and human spaceflight research JAXA logo
HEAD-TO-HEAD3 shared sectors
European Space Agency JAXA
Founded 1975 2003
Headquarters Paris, France Chofu, Japan
Type government government
Status operating operating
Employees 3,739
Total funding
Latest round
Sectors Planetary Exploration, Earth Observation & Remote Sensing, Launch Services, Navigation & Positioning, Satellite Communications Launch Services, Earth Observation & Remote Sensing, Planetary Exploration
Products listed 8 42
Federal contracts
Launches
Leaders listed Josef Aschbacher, Dietmar Pilz, Toni Tolker-Nielsen Hiroshi Yamakawa, Sonoko Watanabe, Masashi Okada
News mentions 14 0
SHARED SECTORS
FREQUENTLY ASKED

How do European Space Agency and JAXA compare?

Both companies work in Planetary Exploration, Earth Observation & Remote Sensing, Launch Services. European Space Agency was founded in 1975 and JAXA in 2003.

Numbers refresh on every render against the live Space Index database. Federal contract data from USAspending.gov; launches from LaunchLibrary2.