Columbus laboratory

This engineering and scientific shiny marvel is the Columbus laboratory circling our planet at 28 800 km/h and 400 km above our heads.

On 11 February 2008, Columbus became ESA’s largest single contribution to the International Space Station and the first permanent European research facility in space

The 7 m long, 4.5 m wide module has since been used to run experiments on everything from cold plasma technology to 3D printing metals and to probing astronauts’ bodies and brains. Inside and out, it provides the microgravity environment and facilities for researchers to test technology and study phenomena that cannot be observed on Earth.