2001: European scientists stand by for lift-off to the ISS
The European Space Agency (ESA) plans to send the first European astronaut to the international space station (ISS) this April. Italian astrophysicist and astronaut Umberto Guidoni will become the first European to visit the International Space Station on an 11-day shuttle mission (STS-100), planned for 19 April. He will deliver up to 10 tonnes of equipment to the ISS. This will also be a turning point in the shuttle's operational history, as for the first time it will be used to transport material in a specially designed 'Multi purpose logistics module' (MPLM) mounted in its cargo bay. 'The module, named Leonardo, is the first of three such carriers scheduled for launch to the Space Station,' reports ESA. Both the MPLMs and ESA's Columbus laboratory, which is scheduled to reach the ISS by 2004, are derived from Spacelab, the European space laboratory, which flew on 22 Shuttle flights between 1983 and 1998. Guidoni's journey will be followed in October by another European astronaut, Frenchwoman Claudie André-Deshays. She has already begun training for her ten-day mission in Star City, near Moscow. In addition, ESA plans to launch Artemis with its Ariane 5 rocket in June 2001. ESA hopes the satellite will play an important role in developing future European and global communications systems, using its advanced features in telecommunications, satellite navigation and data relay between satellites in Earth orbit. There are also plans to launch Envisat in July. Envisat is billed as ' the largest and most complex Earth Observation ever built.' It will continue the work of ERS-1/2, which for the last ten years has given insights into how the planet works and provided 'undisputed evidence of the effects of human activity on the environment; according to ESA. The next ESA Council meeting is scheduled from 14 to 15 November in Edinburgh (UK). Here the ministers responsible for Europe's space strategy will discuss their strategic objectives and the possible 'dual-use' of space ('serving both civil and security requirements').