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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Matthias Maurer of the European Astronaut Centre tries out weightless motion in 2D – courtesy of a friction-free air-bearing platform – during a summer visit to ESTEC’s Orbital Robotics Laboratory. The Lab, used to test out mission scenarios involving microgravity or low-gravity environments, incorporates a 4.8 x 9 m epoxy floor smoothed to within 0.8 mm across its surface. Like an air hockey table, air-bearing platforms can glide freely across it, to simply and easily replicate the dynamics of low gravity motion in two rather than three dimensions.