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
Go to topicA 16:07 minute description of Space Lab, the world's first reusable space laboratory built in Europe and launched in December 1983 and the international collaborative project IML, the International Microgravity Laboratory. Through interviews with ESA astronaut Ulf Merbold and ESA Project Scientist Claude Brillouet the video explains what microgravity is and why it is important for research in many different scientific areas including astronomy, Earth observation, biology and human physiology. Research was also carried out in the IML on the "critical point", the transitional state of certain materials such as the moment when ice changes to water.