Brush up on ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli's long career as an astronaut, his previous missions, and the objectives of his upcoming VITA mission, launching 29 July to the International Space Station from Baikonur Cosmodrome.

Learn more about the SUPVIS Justin experiment ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli is conducting on the International Space Station during his VITA mission. Besides involving a really cool humanoid robot called Justin, the experiment is demonstrating the technology needed to work with robots on planetary missions.

Learn more about the SUPVIS Justin experiment ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli is conducting on the International Space Station during his VITA mission. Besides involving a really cool humanoid robot called Justin, the experiment is demonstrating the technology needed to work with robots on planetary missions.

Learn more about the SUPVIS Justin experiment ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli is conducting on the International Space Station during his VITA mission. Besides involving a really cool humanoid robot called Justin, the experiment is demonstrating the technology needed to work with robots on planetary missions.

The water drunk by astronauts on the International Space Station is recycled by up to 80% from their sweat, urine and other sources. Recycling reduces the number of supply missions needed to run the Station, and building a self-sufficient spacecraft will be necessary for future mission farther from our planet.

Flight surgeons and astronauts closely monitor the quality of the drinking water and the Aquapad experiment that ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet will run in space aims to simplify the regular testing.

Aquapad is a new approach developed by France’s CNES space agency and French diagnostic company bioMérieux: paper impregnated with powdered growth medium creates a 3D petri dish. When water is added, the microbes form coloured spots revealing their locations.

Although developed for space, the technology behind Aquapad is clearly useful on Earth. For example, in disaster areas, where water could be contaminated, a quick picture and calculation are cheaper and faster than sending samples to a laboratory.

Learn more about the Sarcolab-3 or Myotendinous and Neuromuscular Adaption to Long-term Spaceflight experiment performed by ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli as well as participating NASA astronauts and Roscosmos cosmonauts.

Learn more about the Sarcolab-3 or Myotendinous and Neuromuscular Adaption to Long-term Spaceflight experiment performed by ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli as well as participating NASA astronauts and Roscosmos cosmonauts.