Operations
It takes a team to fly to space and ESA astronauts are well supported at every stage of a mission by their colleagues back on Earth.
European Communicator and Medical Operations (EUROCOM)
European Communicator and Medical Operations (EUROCOM) is the interface between Astronauts, the Columbus Flight Control Team, User Support and Operation Centres (USOCs) and space medicine experts.
EUROCOMs are chosen among EAC's Crew Support, Crew Instructors and Biomedical Engineers. They are the "voice of Earth", performing and managing communication between ESA’s Columbus Control Centre in Oberpfaffenhofen, USOCs all over Europe and Astronauts from all countries working on ESA activities on-orbit. EUROCOMs also monitor ESA crew health and well-being, working closely with ESA Flight Surgeons, the Astronaut Exercise Team and other medical specialists.
EAC Crew Operations Support (ECOS)
The EAC Crew Operations Support (ECOS) is a multidisciplinary team composed of members and operational experts from different EAC teams such as Space Medicine, Space Training and Astronaut Operations.
ECOS supports the preparation, integration and execution of different research activities, technology demonstrations and system activities on board the International Space Station, as well as in simulations of space conditions on the ground (analogue platforms) in the area of medical operations, crew support, training and robotics. ECOS therefore acts as an ESA Operational Centre and is responsible for running and implementing European payloads on the International Space Station.
ECOS is also responsible for coordinating the collection of in-flight data for the experiments under their responsibility, as well as its distribution to the researchers (Principal Investigators) and transfer to the ESA Human and Robotic Exploration Data Archive (HREDA).
Crew Support
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Crew Support team members working out of EAC ensure astronauts are able to focus on their missions by taking care of details such as the development of space food, launch and return preparations and communications between an astronaut and their families.
Science and Data
EAC is also responsible for coordinating the collection of baseline data. This involves ensuring researchers have access to any data or samples they might require from an astronaut on Earth before or after their mission to provide a reference point for in-space experiments.
