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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Gravi-2 experiment flown on the International Space Station. Gravi-2 continues the research of its predecessor into how sensitive plants are to gravity.
To find out, 768 lentil seeds were subjected to different levels of simulated gravity. Spinning them in centrifuges at different speeds on the Space Station recreated gravity, similar to how astronauts and fighter pilots are subjected to high g-forces in human centrifuges.
The goal is to see at what gravity level the seedlings begin to show growth differences. Kept spinning for 30 hours at four different centrifuge speeds, the seedlings were observed as they grew.