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!
Members of the Columbus project team inside the European laboratory during the final preparations before hatch closure on 16 October 2007.
Left to right: Bernardo Patti, ESA Columbus Project Manager; Gregor Woop, ESA Columbus Project PA & Safety; Alessio Festa, ESA Columbus Project Chief Mechanical Engineer; Giuliano Canovai, ESA Columbus Project Chief Avionics Engineer.
The European Columbus laboratory is the cornerstone of ESA’s contribution to the ISS and the first European laboratory dedicated to long-term research in space. Columbus will be carried into orbit in the cargo bay of Space Shuttle Atlantis on the STS-122 mission, scheduled for launch on 6 December 2007.