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 topicThank you for liking
You have already liked this page, you can only like it once!
The robotic workstation in Europe’s Cupola observatory module on the International Space Station. ESA astronaut André Kuipers and NASA astronaut Don Pettit flew the Station’s robotic arm to grab and dock the first commercial space ferry Dragon on 25 May 2012.
André watched Dragon approach and acted as an extra pair of eyes as Don operated the robotic arm. Once safely captured, André took over the controls to move the vessel to the Harmony module next to ESA’s Columbus laboratory.
The Space Station crew will open the hatch to Dragon and start unloading a day later. The spacecraft will be packed with cargo from the Space Station and return to Earth within a week.