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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Backup crew members for Expedition 24 go through briefings and other prelaunch preparations at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Wearing flight suits, from the left, are Russian cosmonaut Dmitri Kondratiev, European Space Agency astronaut Paolo Nespoli and NASA astronaut Cady Coleman. Not far away (out of frame), prepping for the June 16 scheduled launch aboard the Soyuz TMA-19 spacecraft, are the prime crew members, who appear in other photos in this series. (4 June 2010, NASA photo JSC2010-E-089898)