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!
Ulf Merbold was the first ESA astronaut to fly in space, and the first non-US citizen to fly on a Space Shuttle, as part of the crew of the STS-9 Spacelab 1 mission on Space Shuttle Columbia in 1983.
At 10 days, it was the longest duration Shuttle flight to date, and with a 6-member crew (Merbold with John Young, Brewster Shaw, Owen Garriott, Robert Parker and Byron Lichtenberg) this was another spaceflight record at the time.
The nine stars and the path of the orbiter on the patch give the flight's numerical designation in the Space Shuttle's mission sequence. Spacelab is seen in Columbia's payload bay.