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 22 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
Go to topicThank you for liking
You have already liked this page, you can only like it once!
ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst during an Antarctic expedition on Mount Erebus.
Alexander’s interest in the environment around him and exploration of the unknown led him to choose an academic career in geophysics and volcanology. This relatively new scientific discipline offered the potential to explore extreme places, while the research has immediate benefits for people living near volcanoes.
Multiple field-trips to study volcanoes up close in Antarctica, Guatemala, Italy, Ethiopia and Indonesia followed for Alexander as he continued his studies at universities in Karlsruhe, Germany, and Wellington, New Zealand. Alexander’s Master’s degree and subsequent doctorate saw him developing new instruments to study and help predict volcanic eruptions.