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 working on the Triplelux experiment during her 2015 Futura mission to the International Space Station.
Triplelux is an ESA investigation into the effects of microgravity on immune cells, using the Biolab facility in Columbus on the International Space Station.
Cells were spun to recreate different levels of gravity, from zero to the level we feel on Earth, allowing researchers to compare samples and exclude other factors in the results.
Although the cells went into disarray in weightlessness, they reacted ultra-rapidly and fully recovered inside 42 seconds.
Samantha commented on the picture: "While I was working on the Triplelux experiment I noticed that Columbus was in the hands of Italian ladies! Serena & Martina talked to me on space-to-ground as EUROCOMs and Laura was the systems specialist on duty in Columbus Control Centre."