The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
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The Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor (ASIM), also known as the Space Storm Hunter, completed its trip to space in April 2018. This video shows the different stages of that voyage, from launch to installation on the International Space Station.
The suite of instruments rode in the Dragon cargo vehicle that was launched on 2 April from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA.
After orbiting Earth for two days, Dragon positioned itself below the Station for capture. ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen played a crucial role at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston as lead ‘capcom’ during Dragon’s rendezvous and berthing.
Operators on Earth commanded the International Space Station’s 16-m long robotic arm to move the 314-kg facility from the Dragon spacecraft’s cargo hold to its place of operation on Europe’s Columbus laboratory on 13 April.
It is the first time that such a set of sensitive cameras, light sensors and X- and gamma-ray detectors will study the anatomy of luminous phenomena in Earth’s upper atmosphere and bursts of high-energy radiation.
Data from this observatory will improve our understanding of the effect of thunderstorms on the atmosphere and contribute to more accurate climate models.