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 Samantha Cristoforetti participating in Italian Space Agency ASI’s Acoustic Diagnostics experiment aboard the International Space Station.
This experiment uses special headphones containing a small device that records the response of the inner ear to study the effect of microgravity and background noise on astronaut hearing. Detecting hearing loss in space will both help take care of astronauts’ health during long missions and improve a device for testing hearing more accurately in any noisy environment on Earth.
You can follow along with Samantha's mission Minerva via Samantha’s Twitter, Flickr and TikTok accounts, or via our dedicated Minerva page.