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
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ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter (DE) flew on the Space Shuttle Discovery STS-121 to join Expedition 13 in July 2006 as part of the Astrolab mission. He later became part of Expedition 14 before returning to Earth aboard the Discovery STS-116 flight six months later. Reiter has logged over 350 days in space, the most by any non-American or non-Russian astronauts.
The STS-121 patch depicts the Space Shuttle Atlantis docked with the ISS in the foreground, overlaying the astronaut symbol with three gold columns and a gold star. The ISS is shown in the configuration that it will be in during the STS-121 mission. The background shows the nighttime Earth with a dawn breaking over the horizon. STS-121, mission ULF1.1, is the final Shuttle Return-to-Flight test mission. This utilisation and logistics flight will bring a Multipurpose Logistics Module (MPLM) to the ISS with several thousand pounds of new supplies and experiments.