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!
Specially designed to operate in weightlessness, this diagnostic disc can identify diabetes, cardiovascular disease and high cholesterol from a single drop of astronaut blood.
Future long duration space missions beyond Earth orbit will see crews isolated as never before. Astronauts will have to be self-sufficient in healthcare as in everything else.
Developed through ESA’s General Support Technology Programme (GSTP) with Radisens Diagnostics in Ireland, this diagnostics device was designed for automated blood testing, overcoming processing difficulties due to microgravity by substituting centrifugal force.
A pinprick of blood is added to a mini-disc embedded with a wide variety of miniaturised test procedures. The disc is then inserted into the ‘point-of-care’ device and set spinning to spread the blood sample across the surface. Multiple tests can be performed simultaneously, with automated results delivered within a matter of minutes.
Follow a year in the life of GSTP with this interactive overview.