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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Installed on the ISS in 2008, the Columbus laboratory offers researchers worldwide the opportunity to conduct science without the influence of gravity in fields such as fluid physics, material sciences, radiation physics, the human body, biology and astrobiology.
ESA astronauts have been flying to the International Space Station since 2001, carrying out critical assembly tasks and supporting research in areas ranging from fundamental science to advanced technology and commercial products.
Numerous experiments study the effect of gravity on biological, physical and chemical processes and how these could be used to improve daily life on Earth.
ESA trains its astronauts at the European Astronaut Centre near Cologne in Germany, where it also instructs international crew members how to operate European elements on the ISS. The current generation of ESA astronauts was selected in 2009 to prepare for the next decades of human spaceflight and exploration, to the Moon, Mars and beyond.