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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André Kuipers (born 1958), of Dutch nationality, was selected to become an astronaut of the European Space Agency (ESA) in October 1998. He is a medical doctor and has been involved in space-related medical research since 1991 at ESA's technical establishment ESTEC in the Netherlands, including parabolic flight activities. André has been involved in preparing scientific payloads for several space missions, such as: the Space Shuttle/Spacelab D-2 mission in 1993, the joint European-Russian Euromir 95 mission in 1995/96 and the Shuttle/Life and Microgravity Spacelab (LMS) mission in 1996. André Kuipers was preparing scientific facilities for the International Space station and coordinating experiments for the future Shuttle mission STS-107 planned for launch in early 2003.