ESA Exploration

@exploration.esa.int

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Sharing news on Europe's human and robotic exploration, from astronaut training to the next giant leap to the Moon and Mars.

ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano is shown flying above Earth attached to the International Space Station's Canadarm2 robotic arm. This image was captured during his second spacewalk to service the cosmic ray detecting Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer AMS-02.
Earth sets beyond the Moon's horizon on flight day 6 of Artemis II, offering a beautiful view of our home planet from behind our natural satellite. The delicate blue arc contrasts with the stark lunar surface, reminiscent of the iconic Earthrise image from the Apollo 8 mission.
JAXA astronaut Ayu Yoneda and NASA astronaut candidate Ben Bailey practise single-rope ascent and descent techniques on a natural rock face during ESA's CAVES training course.
Infographics explaining how the thermal control system works on the International Space Station.
John McFall, member of ESA’s astronaut reserve and the Fly! project is installing a telephone cable along one of the tunnels during the CAVES training campaign in 2026.
From left to right: ESA astronaut Rosemary Coogan, JAXA's Ayu Yoneda and NASA's Tracy Dyson learning how to measure water parameters and record them during the CAVES training course, June 2026.
Close-up of the robotic arm's gripper, or end-effector, designed to handle objects with high precision.
Artemis II
ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano during a spacewalk with NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy on 9 July 2013.
The third European Service Module's structure at Thales Alenia Space in Turin. A grey cylinder in the middle of a cleanroom, with engineers in lab coats.
ESA portrait of Aleš Svoboda. Credits: ESA - A. Conigli
Animated representation of a digital holographic microscopy image of the KRABS experiment studying red blood cells. The image was captured on ground.