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 Thomas Pesquet captured feeding tardigrades in one of the International Space Station experiments.
Thomas shared this image on his social media channels with the caption: "Researchers are investigating the effects of microgravity on these microscopic creatures, also known as water bears, through an experiment called Cell Science 4. Did you know the largest tardigrade species is just over 1mm in length and they're incredibly hardy – surviving extreme environments in space and on Earth. In this case, researchers want to characterise the genes that allow tardigrades to survive during short and long periods in space, then assess how the use of these genes changes across generations. Maybe we can harness their secrets!"
Follow Thomas and his Mission Alpha on his blog.