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 Soyuz-U launcher for the Bion-10 (Cosmos 2229) mission only hours before liftoff from the pad at Russia's northern Plesetsk cosmodrome. The layer of ice shows the liquid oxygen tanks have been filled. The satellite carried 10 joint experiments from ESA and Moscow's Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP). Four of them were carried by ESA's Biobox incubator, making its first flight. Bion-10 was launched on 29 December 1992 and recovered on 10 January 1993. [Image Date: 29-12-92] [98.08.002-008]