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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From left: JAXA astronaut Aki Hoshide, NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, checking their spacesuits on 29 October 2021 in preparation for their return to Earth
Thomas shared this image on social media with the caption:
"We tried on our spacesuits one last time to check that everything still fits! There’s an urban legend of an astronaut who worked out so much on ISS that he didn’t fit in his spacesuit (or in his custom-moulded) seat for return… it’s not going to be me… I hope. As getting into the spacesuits is not easy, and maybe because it will be one of the last times we are weightless for a long time the pictures came out fun."
Over 200 experiments are planned during Thomas’ time in space, with 40 European ones and 12 new experiments led by the French space agency CNES.
Latest updates on the Alpha mission can be found via @esaspaceflight on Twitter, with more details on ESA’s exploration blog via thomaspesquet.esa.int.
Background information on the Alpha mission is available at www.esa.int/MissionAlpha with a brochure at www.esa.int/AlphaBrochure.