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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How does ESA tell if candidate components for future missions have the right stuff for space? First they undergo rigorous ‘environmental testing’ – such as sustained exposure to vacuum, temperature extremes or vibration. Then the resulting condition of a test item is assessed with powerful analytical tools, such as this acoustic microscope.
Part of ESA’s Materials and Electrical Components Laboratory, which is one of a suite of technical labs based at the ESTEC centre in the Netherlands, the acoustic microscope sends out ultrasound pulses whose echoes can highlight cracks and other anomalies in candidate parts down to the scale of micrometres, or thousandths of a millimetre.
The lab is additionally equipped with various optical, scanning electron and confocal microscopes, including a scanning probe microscope offering resolution right down to the atomic scale.
Made up of more than 20 dedicated experimental facilities and hundreds of instruments overall, the Materials & Electrical Components Laboratory guarantees an optimal choice of electrical components, materials and processes for ESA missions and external projects.