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 Roberto Vittori (IT) is assigned to fly on Space Shuttle Endeavour STS-134 to the ISS, scheduled for February 2011.
The STS-134 crew patch highlights research on the ISS focusing on the fundamental physics of the Universe. On this mission, the crew of Space Shuttle will install the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) experiment - a cosmic particle detector that uses the first superconducting magnet to be flown in space. By studying sub-atomic particles in the background cosmic radiation, and searching for 'anti-matter' and 'dark matter', it will help scientists better understand the evolution and properties of our Universe. The shape of the patch is inspired by the international atomic symbol, and represents the atom with orbiting electrons around the nucleus. The burst near the centre refers to the 'Big Bang' theory and the origin of the Universe.