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 sample holder of the Russian Kashtan facility for separating biologically active materials. It was used for ESA's protein crystallisation experiment aboard the Foton-7 mission launched from the northern Plesetsk cosmodrome on 4 October 1991 for 16 days. The experiment was quite successful; for full details see N.E. Chayen, Protein Engineering, volume 9, number 10, pages 927-929, 1996. [Image Date: 1991] [91.05.022-001]