The European Astronaut Centre in Germany prepares an ESA astronaut corps of experts in the fields of science, technology and medicine.
Since 2001 European astronauts have been flying to the ISS to carry out scientific and technological research, delivering insights that cannot be achieved on Earth.
Thomas Reiter was the first ESA astronaut to join the ISS crew as a permanent member with a long-duration mission of 6 months in 2006. European astronauts have also performed essential extra-vehicular activity - spacewalks - to assemble key elements of the ISS.
In February 2008 Hans Schlegel and Léopold Eyharts will fly on STS-122, to deliver the Columbus laboratory, one of Europe's major contributions to the ISS.
Hans Schlegel will play a key role in two of the three spacewalks scheduled for the mission, while Leopold Eyharts will remain on board the ISS as a member of the permanent Expedition 16 crew to oversee the installation, activation and in-orbit commissioning of Columbus and its experiment facilities.