EUROPE AND THE ISS

EUROPE AND THE ISS

The International Space Station,ISS, is the world’s largest international scientific venture ever. The partnership includes the USA, Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe.

The Station is a permanent human base in space, orbiting 400 kilometres above us. It offers unique opportunities to observe our planet, carry out research in space conditions – weightlessness, radiation, vacuum and extreme temperatures – and prepare for future human exploration.

ESA’s involvement in the Station partnership has been a great stimulus for European industry, with the development and manufacture of cutting-edge space systems and hardware.

The Columbus science laboratory is one of ESA’s key contributions to the Station. With the ISS nearing completion, exploitation of this unique facility and the unrivalled opportunities it offers is well under way.

ESA also provides the Automated Transfer Vehicle, ATV, series of unmanned ferries that dock and undock automatically, each carrying a cargo of experiments, spares, food, propellant and other supplies.