Marco Polo sample return

I'm so lucky. I live in a town that has a long history in Space flight. In fact, for as long as I can remember, Stevenage in Hertfordshire, UK has had pioneering companies involved in space related activities. The first was British Aerospace and now EADS Astrium. Astrium have been involved in a long line of groundbreaking missions including many built (but maybe not assembled) in Stevenage. The Beagle 2 and the Automated Transfer Vehicle Jules Vern (ATV), to name two well known examples. Now, ESA are proposing a sample return mission to a near Earth object. The mission has been named Marco Polo and Astrium have been appointed the prime contractor.  What's more, the mission is a collaboration with the Japanese Space Agency JAXA, a potent mix of expertise. The proposed launch vehicle will be a Soyuz rocket.

So when someone asks you where all those ESA space missions are built. You can now tell them Stevenage in Hertfordshire, UK. It's where all the great European space stuff really goes on!