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 topicA crew of six, including two Europeans, will begin next month a simulated mission to Mars in a mockup that includes an interplanetary spaceship, a Mars lander and a martian landscape. The Mars 500 experiment, as long as a real journey to Mars, will be second to none as the ultimate test of human endurance.
The ESA-selected Europeans have now been chosen among 4 candidates who have been training at the Russian Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP) in Moscow for several weeks. Diego Urbina, 26, has Italian-Colombian nationality and a wide experience in the space field. Romain Charles, 31, from France, is a quality manager at Sotira, a company producing composite panels.