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 topicFTRL5 equipment for the Eneide Mission. This experiment is aimed at assessing the effects of the space environment (weightlessness and radiation) on rat thyroid cells. This experiment should provide further indications that may help in understanding why the sensitivity of the cells to radiation damage is related to their cell cycle and to the kinetics of the radiation. Furthermore it will help improve our knowledge of the effect of the space environment on the human body, especially with longer-term missions planned in the future (e.g. Mars).