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 André Kuipers (middle) and cosmonaut Gennady Padalka (right) practising using ESA’s Kubik incubator before their first mission together in 2004.
The incubator contains microscopic Caenorhabditis elegans worms to investigate how they adapt to space conditions.
Eight years later André and Gennady were reunited on the International Space Station with a follow-up study on the same species of worms.