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 topicThank you for liking
You have already liked this page, you can only like it once!
ESA Astronaut Thomas Reiter, from Germany, during a training session inside the Soyuz TMA simulator at the Gagarin Training Center, also known as Zviezdny Gorodok ("Star City"), near Moscow, as part of his preparation for future long-duration flights to the International Space Station (ISS). He wears the Sokol pressurised suit worn by the crew during launch and return phases.
A military test-pilot, Thomas Reiter was selected to join the European Astronaut Corps in 1992. Selected for ESA's Euromir 95 mission, he flew this record-breaking 179-day mission on the Mir space station from 3 September 1995 to 29 February 1996. He performed some 40 European scientific experiments, participated in the maintenance of the station and carried out two spacewalks. His next assignment is the Astrolab mission with the next Shuttle launch (STS-121).