CNES is the French space agency. Founded in 1961, the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales is a programmatic agency, field centre and space operator encompassing all of the functions required to shape and execute the French government’s space strategy, and to deploy public policies that rely on the space sector (land management, agriculture, health, telecommunications, natural disasters, defence, etc.).

CNES is a government agency overseen by the Ministry of the Economy and Finance, the Ministry for Armed Forces and the Ministry for Higher Education, Research and Space.

In Paris, Toulouse and Kourou, CNES has more than 2,300 people working to project French excellence around the world and make France a partner of choice in the major science programmes shaping our future.

We are keenly aware of our responsibility and duty as a government agency to set an example, and we are committed to ensuring the well-being of our people and to preserving living ecosystems.

Our corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy covers the three social, economic and environmental pillars of sustainable development, aligned with France’s CSR roadmap and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

CNES is working to promote space as a tool for gaining new insights into environmental phenomena, nature conservation, efforts to combat climate change and for the sustainable use of outer space.