About ESA
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.
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Space in Member States
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Germany
Austria
Belgium
Denmark
Spain
Estonia
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France
Greece
Hungary
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Science & Exploration
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
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Enabling & Support
Making space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
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Soyuz TM-33 Andromède mission patch, 2001
In the ‘Andromède’ mission, ESA astronaut Claudie Haigneré (FR)
was the first European female astronaut to travel to the International Space Station (ISS) in October 2001. Haigneré stayed on the ISS for 8 days during her 10-day Soyuz TM-33 flight. With her were Russians Victor Afanasyev and Konstantin Kozeyev.
Haigneré had asked CNES to commission women artists to create the mission logo, and French graphic designer Virginie Enlart was chosen. She used a combination of imagery, starting with the Andromeda constellation and using the chains which bound the mythological princess Andromeda to a rock (from which she was freed by Perseus) as an echo to the DNA chain. The central female figure (a cave-dweller from the valley of the Tagus), signifying how far we have developed in 4000 years; her silhouette even hinting at what a spacesuit might be!
The background is taken from a terracotta spindle whorl, evoking the form of high-precision instruments, such as satellites, the ISS, geometrical diagrams and mathematical equations. According to Enlart, the colours add further weight to the various elements: the gold is shaped as a crescent moon, yellow as the Sun with its eruptions, light blue is reminiscent of Earth's atmosphere as seen from above, the dark blue brings a hint of coolness, suggesting the dark void of the upper atmosphere and wider Universe, the red links the typography to the main character and the dynamism of the mission, and silver denotes the high technological aspect, at the very heart of this adventure.
Launch of Andomède mission from Baikonur
Launch of Andomède mission from Baikonur
Andromède mission - Soyuz capsule descends to Earth
Transfer of Soyuz to launch pad
