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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Russia's Bion-10 (Cosmos 2229) life sciences mission provided the opportunity for significant cooperation between ESA and Moscow's Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP). The satellite carried 10 joint ESA/IBMP experiments, with four of them inside ESA's new Biobox incubator. Bion-10 was launched on 29 December 1992 from Plesetsk and recovered on 10 January 1993. The photograph shows experiment packages of the joint ESA/IBMP 'SEEDS' experiment. As is common practice in space biology, the flight packages (green labels) were accompanied by duplicates (red labels), kept on Earth during flight for reference. The smaller packs were flown in exposure containers on the spacecraft's outer surface, with the gold-coloured caps (at left) mounted on top as protection against solar heating. [Image Date: 1992/12] [98.08.002-013]