European Space Agency
The European Space Agency is an intergovernmental organization of 22 member states dedicated to the exploration of space. Established in 1975 and headquartered in Paris, ESA has a worldwide staff of about 2,200
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Step into the holidays with this picturesque ‘winter wonderland’ scene at the south pole of Mars, captured by ESA’s Mars Express. View the full article
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Video: 00:11:10 In 2024, ESA continued to drive Europe’s innovation and excellence in space, equipping the continent with advanced tools and knowledge to address global and local challenges. The year saw pioneering missions, cutting-edge satellites and the pivotal restoration of Europe’s independent access to space. The first Ariane 6 launch was perhaps ‘the’ highlight of the year but it was only one of many achievements. We saw the last Vega launch and then the return to flight of Vega-C, the more powerful, upgraded version carrying Sentinel-1C. Far away in our Solar System, the ESA/JAXA BepiColombo spacecraft performed twoMercury flybys in 2024, needed so that …
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Image: Fit for service: Themis reusable rocket stage demonstrator View the full article
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Submarines are emerging as a unique research platform to study human adaption to extreme environments – from ocean depths to outer space. View the full article
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Our understanding of planet formation in the Universe’s early days is challenged by new data from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope. Webb solved a puzzle by proving a controversial finding made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope more than 20 years ago. View the full article
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A multi-orbit constellation of about 300 satellites that will deliver resilient, secure and fast communications for EU governments, European companies and citizens will be put in orbit after two contracts were confirmed today in Brussels. View the full article
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Relive Europe’s greatest space achievements of the year View the full article
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Image: These summer images from the Copernicus Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-1 missions showcase different satellite views of Greenland’s west coast. View the full article
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A key element of ESA’s role as Europe’s space agency is the expansion of space knowhow, by encouraging new actors into the field. Case in point: a Polish software company previously specialising in smartphone apps took on the challenge of designing the operating system for the main instrument of Proba-3 – an ambitious double spacecraft mission to reveal secrets of the Sun’s fiery atmosphere, the corona. View the full article
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On 4 December 2024, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) signed an agreement that will see ESA provide ground station support to the missions in ISRO’s Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme. View the full article
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For the first time, the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has detected and ‘weighed’ a galaxy, in the early Universe, that has a mass that is similar to what our Milky Way galaxy’s mass might have been at the same stage of development. Found at around 600 million years after the Big Bang, this lightweight galaxy, nicknamed the Firefly Sparkle, is gleaming with star clusters – 10 in total – that researchers examined in great detail. Other galaxies Webb has detected at this period in the history of the Universe are significantly more massive. View the full article
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Video: 00:04:04 English Paxi explores ice Join Paxi on an adventure to the North and South poles, to learn more about ice and its role in keeping Earth cool. Italian Paxi osserva il ghiaccio Unisciti a Paxi in un'avventura ai poli Nord e Sud, per saperne di più sul ghiaccio e sul suo ruolo nel mantenere la Terra fresca. German Paxi erforscht das Eis Begleiten Sie Paxi auf ein Abenteuer zum Nord- und Südpol, um mehr über Eis und seine Rolle bei der Kühlung der Erde zu erfahren. French Paxi explore la glace Rejoignez Paxi dans une aventure aux pôles Nord et Sud, pour en savoir plus sur la glace et son rôle dans le refroidissement de la Terre. Spanish Paxi ex…
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Launched in May 2024, ESA’s EarthCARE satellite is nearing the end of its commissioning phase with the release of its first data on clouds and aerosols expected early next year. In the meantime, an international team of scientists has found an innovative way of applying artificial intelligence to other satellite data to yield 3D profiles of clouds. This is particularly news for those eagerly awaiting data from EarthCARE in their quest to advance climate science. View the full article
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Image: Space design chamber made in LEGO View the full article
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Less than a week after its launch, the Copernicus Sentinel-1C satellite has delivered its first radar images of Earth – offering a glimpse into its capabilities for environmental monitoring. These initial images feature regions of interest, including Svalbard in Norway, the Netherlands, and Brussels, Belgium. View the full article
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On 1 December 2024, BepiColombo flew past Mercury for the fifth time. During this flyby, BepiColombo became the first spacecraft ever to observe Mercury in mid-infrared light. The new images reveal variations in temperature and composition across the planet's cratered surface. View the full article
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Researchers from the University of Leeds have detected methane leaking from a faulty pipe in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, UK, using GHGSat satellite data – part of ESA’s Third Party Mission Programme. This marks the first time a UK methane emission has been identified from space and successfully mitigated. View the full article
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Week in images: 02-06 December 2024 Discover our week through the lens View the full article
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Image: This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image from 21 November 2024 captures the first snow of the season over Denmark and southern Sweden. View the full article
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Video: 00:03:40 The third Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellite, Sentinel-1C, has launched aboard a Vega-C rocket, flight VV25, from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The rocket lifted off on 5 December 2024 at 22:20 CET (18:20 local time). Sentinel-1C extends the legacy of its predecessors, delivering high-resolution radar imagery to monitor Earth’s changing environment, supporting a diverse range of applications and advance scientific research. Additionally, Sentinel-1C introduces new capabilities for detecting and monitoring maritime traffic. The launch also marks Vega-C’s ‘return to flight’, a key step in restoring Europe’s independent access to space. Vega-C is…
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The third Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellite was launched on a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. Sentinel-1C extends the legacy of its predecessors, delivering high-resolution radar imagery to monitor Earth’s changing environment, supporting a diverse range of applications and advancing scientific research. Additionally, Sentinel-1C introduces new capabilities for detecting and monitoring maritime traffic. View the full article
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Video: 00:02:40 The third Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellite, Sentinel-1C, has launched aboard a Vega-C rocket, flight VV25, from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The rocket lifted off on 5 December 2024 at 22:20 CET (18:20 local time). Sentinel-1C extends the legacy of its predecessors, delivering high-resolution radar imagery to monitor Earth’s changing environment, supporting a diverse range of applications and advance scientific research. Additionally, Sentinel-1C introduces new capabilities for detecting and monitoring maritime traffic. The launch also marks Vega-C’s ‘return to flight’, a key step in restoring Europe’s independent access to space. Vega-C is …
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Today, ESA’s powerful X-ray observatory, XMM-Newton, celebrates 25 years in space. From planets to black holes, the space telescope has delivered many ground-breaking observations of a variety of celestial objects. And the mission is still going strong as recent results testify. We take a look at five fascinating discoveries from the last five years. View the full article
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Video: 00:01:21 Proba-3 lifted off on its PSLV-XL rocket from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India, on Thursday, 5 December, at 11:34 CET (10:34 GMT, 16:04 local time). The mission was launched using this Indian launcher because it needed to be placed in a highly elliptical orbit extending more than 60 500 km from the ground. After integration and testing was completed at Redwire Space in Belgium, Proba-3 was transported to India to be prepared for launch. The latest member of ESA’s family of in-orbit demonstration missions, Proba-3 is in fact two spacecraft being launched together, which will separate in orbit to begin performing precise formation fly…
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Video: 00:02:27 ESA’s Proba-3 mission lifted off on its PSLV-XL rocket from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India, on Thursday, 5 December, at 11:34 CET (10:34 GMT, 16:04 local time). View the full article
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