A research laboratory built by the European Space Agency which will form a permanent part of the International Space Station (ISS). Columbus is a pressurized cylinder 6.9 m long and 4.5 m wide with room for three astronauts to conduct investigations in biology, medicine, and materials science in conditions of near-weightlessness. Additional equipment can be mounted on the outside of the laboratory for further observations and experiments in the vacuum of space. Columbus is Europe's largest single contribution to the ISS and will be launched in the cargo bay of the space shuttle.