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 Samantha Cristoforetti training for spacewalks in NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory in Houston, USA.
Diving underwater is as close as it gets to experiencing weightlessness on Earth for long periods of time. To simulate floating in space, astronauts don the suits before being lowered into a large diving pool.
Should future missions require Samantha to venture outside the International Space Station to install new equipment or collect samples, she needs to know how to use spacesuits.