European Programme for Life and Physical Sciences in Space
Corporate brand
UnclaimedELIPS is the European Space Agency's optional research programme for life and physical sciences conducted in microgravity and related spaceflight environments.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
The European Programme for Life and Physical Sciences in Space, generally known as ELIPS, is a European Space Agency programme that organizes, funds and enables scientific research in microgravity and other extreme spaceflight environments. It is not a consumer brand or commercial company; its name identifies a continuing ESA research programme and associated portfolio of experiments, facilities, investigators and application-oriented projects. ELIPS was defined in 2001 as the successor to earlier European microgravity initiatives, particularly the European Microgravity Research Programmes EMIR 1 and EMIR 2 and the Microgravity Facilities for Columbus programme. Its creation reflected the transition toward sustained European use of the International Space Station. The programme was designed to ensure that ESA's investment in the ISS and its research infrastructure produced a broad scientific return, while also coordinating European participation in experiment selection, facility use and international research partnerships. Most ELIPS investigations have been performed on the ISS, especially through facilities associated with ESA's Columbus laboratory. The programme also uses platforms that provide shorter or otherwise distinct periods of weightlessness, including sounding rockets, parabolic aircraft, drop towers and robotic orbital capsules. Ground-based work is an important complement. Bed-rest studies, isolation analogues and radiation investigations help researchers distinguish the effects of reduced gravity from other hazards relevant to long-duration human exploration. The programme covers fundamental and applied research. Its principal fields include fundamental physics, fluid and combustion physics, materials science, human physiology, biology, biotechnology, plant science, astro- and exobiology, and research relevant to planetary exploration. Typical questions concern how fluids, combustion, crystals, biological cells, plants, muscles, bones, sensory systems and organisms behave when gravity-driven effects are reduced or absent. Other work addresses radiation exposure, life-support challenges, the survivability of organisms and the physiological and psychological demands of future exploration missions. ELIPS operates as an optional ESA programme, meaning that participating member states subscribe to it through decisions taken at ministerial-level councils rather than through ESA's mandatory activities. ESA uses calls for proposals and independent scientific review to select projects, then supports experiment development, qualification and access to flight opportunities. The programme also encourages cooperation among universities, industry, national research organizations and international space agencies. Experiment descriptions and results have been made available through ESA's Erasmus Experiment Archive. The programme is related to, but distinct from, ESA's ISS Exploitation Programme. ELIPS is primarily the science and research-utilisation element, whereas ISS exploitation covers system-level and operational matters. This separation allowed European scientific objectives to be managed alongside the infrastructure and logistics required to use Columbus and other European ISS contributions. The programme's significance therefore extends beyond individual experiments: it provides a framework for European scientific coordination, peer review, technology development and preparation for human exploration.
History
ELIPS developed from Europe's effort to establish a coordinated approach to microgravity research. By around 1980, ESA member-state delegations recognized that nationally fragmented funding and planning made it difficult to sustain European experiments beyond the first Spacelab missions. ESA consequently proposed a dedicated Microgravity Research Programme. In January 1982, its first phase focused on shared facilities for biology and fluid physics and on coordinated sounding-rocket missions. In February 1985, delegations approved the second phase, which became known as the European Microgravity Research Programme 1, or EMIR-1. Although initially planned for four years, extensions approved in 1988 and 1991 effectively allowed EMIR-1 activities to continue until 1999. EMIR-2 was then intended to bridge European research to the expected beginning of ISS utilisation around 2001. Its approval in 1995 was only partial, and delays to the ISS timetable required the available funds to be spread over a longer period, reducing the rate at which experiments could be carried out. ESA's Columbus plans formed another part of this institutional evolution. The originally larger Columbus design was reduced for cost reasons, while an agreement with NASA allocated a defined share of laboratory resources to ESA. The resulting Microgravity Facilities for Columbus programme, approved with the Columbus Programme in September 1995, supported facilities including Biolab, the Fluid Science Laboratory and the Material Science Laboratory, together with an initial set of experiments. Experience gained through cooperation involving the Russian Mir station and Russian uncrewed spacecraft also helped prepare European researchers and institutions for ISS operations. ELIPS was defined in 2001 as the successor framework for European life and physical science research in space. ESA aligned its broad research approach with themes also present in European Community research planning, while retaining its own proposal and review mechanisms. The programme organized its objectives around exploring nature, improving health, innovating technologies and processes, and caring for the environment. These themes were expressed through research domains such as fundamental physics, fluid and combustion physics, materials science, physiology, biology, and astro- or exobiology. The start of the ISS era also clarified the division between scientific utilisation and infrastructure operations. ELIPS became the science programme, while ISS exploitation activities covered the operational and system responsibilities associated with European participation in the station. ESA's Columbus laboratory was attached to the ISS during the STS-122 mission on 11 February 2008. With Columbus in service, Europe obtained its agreed utilisation rights in the non-Russian segment of the station, providing a principal platform for ELIPS investigations. The programme's activities extend beyond orbital experiments. Research proposals can involve parabolic flights, sounding rockets, drop towers and other platforms, while bed-rest, isolation and radiation studies provide terrestrial analogues for exploration research. ESA solicits proposals through Announcements of Opportunity and relies on advisory bodies and independent scientific assessment. The resulting portfolio connects academic research with industrial and technology-development teams and supports international cooperation with other space agencies. The Erasmus Experiment Archive provides a continuing repository of experiment descriptions and results.
- 2013
ELIPS 4 period
[1]The fourth programme period was reported as covering 2013–2016 and supporting a broad portfolio of European microgravity research.
- 2008
Columbus begins ISS operations
[1]ESA's Columbus laboratory was attached to the International Space Station during the STS-122 mission, creating a principal European platform for ELIPS research.
- 2001
ELIPS is defined
[1]ESA defined ELIPS as the successor to EMIR 1, EMIR 2 and the Columbus microgravity-facilities initiative, with a focus on ISS-era life and physical sciences.
- 1995
EMIR-2 and Microgravity Facilities for Columbus
[1]EMIR-2 was partly approved, while the Microgravity Facilities for Columbus programme was approved alongside the Columbus Programme to support facilities and initial experiments.
- 1985
Approval of EMIR-1
[1]ESA delegations approved the second phase of the microgravity programme, subsequently known as the European Microgravity Research Programme 1.
- 1982
First phase of the ESA Microgravity Research Programme
[1]ESA's initial coordinated microgravity initiative became operational, supporting shared biology and fluid-physics facilities and coordinated sounding-rocket activity.
Products and positioning
A coordinated European public research programme linking microgravity science, ISS utilisation, applied technology development and preparation for future human exploration.
space research · 2001
ISS and Columbus experiments
ELIPS prepares and supports experiments performed aboard the International Space Station, particularly using ESA's Columbus laboratory and its associated research facilities. Investigations span physical processes that are masked by gravity on Earth as well as biological and physiological responses to the space environment. The work is selected through ESA proposal calls and scientific review and may involve universities, research institutes, industry and international partners.
space research · 2001
Short-duration microgravity investigations
The programme uses platforms including sounding rockets, parabolic aircraft and drop towers to obtain brief periods of reduced gravity. These platforms complement ISS experiments by enabling technology tests, repeatable short-duration investigations and preparatory work before orbital deployment. Robotic orbital capsules and other uncrewed mission platforms can also be used when their flight environment suits the research question.
human spaceflight research · 2001
Exploration analogue and radiation studies
ELIPS includes ground-based research relevant to future exploration, including bed-rest studies, isolation analogues and investigations of biological effects from radiation at ion-beam facilities. These activities help researchers examine the combined physiological, behavioral and environmental problems expected during long-duration missions without requiring every question to be tested in orbit.
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