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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A night-time view from Space Shuttle Columbia with the European-designed Spacelab Science Module, hosting 16-days of Neurolab research. The tunnel that leads from the cabin to the science module in the cargo bay is at bottom center.
Spacelab was the European participation in Space Shuttle programme. Investigations during the Neurolab mission on the Columbia's flight in 1998 focused on the effects of microgravity on the nervous system. Experiments studied the adaptation of the vestibular system, the central nervous system, and the pathways that control the ability to sense location in the absence of gravity, as well as the effect of microgravity on a developing nervous system.