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
Go to topicThe internal structure of a human cell in simulated gravity taken on the International Space Station. Pictured here is a monocyte immune cell that plays an integral role in protecting our bodies from foreign invaders such as bacteria and viruses.
To record this image, immune cells were placed on gold-coated slides inside ESA’s Kubik incubator. As the cells grew they removed the gold, allowing researchers on Earth to measure their movements in space. Antibodies that light up under a fluorescence microscope were added to reveal colours and identify specific proteins.