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 topicThank you for liking
You have already liked this page, you can only like it once!
ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet in the European space laboratory Columbus that is part of the International Space Station. This picture was taken on 26 November 2016 during the six-month Proxima mission.
The Columbus laboratory is ESA’s largest single contribution to the International Space Station. It was also the first permanent European research facility in space.
The state-of-the-art facility offers 75 cubic metres of space and contains an entire suite of research equipment. External platforms support experiments and applications in space science, Earth observation and technology.
Columbus offers European scientists full access to a weightless environment that cannot possibly be duplicated on Earth.