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
2,338 topics in this forum
-
- 0 replies
- 155 views
Week in images: 04-08 December 2023 Discover our week through the lens View the full article
Last reply by European Space Agency, -
- 0 replies
- 120 views
Image: The powerful Hurricane Otis has been captured in this Copernicus Sentinel-3 image when it was approaching Mexico’s southern Pacific coast in October 2023. View the full article
Last reply by European Space Agency, -
- 0 replies
- 148 views
Tropical forests are clearly critical to Earth’s climate system, but understanding exactly how much carbon they absorb from the atmosphere, store and release is tricky to calculate, not least because measuring and reporting methods vary. With these measurements paramount for nations assessing the action they are taking to combat the climate crisis, new research shows how differences in estimates of carbon flux associated with human activity can be reconciled. View the full article
Last reply by European Space Agency, -
- 0 replies
- 137 views
Video: 00:11:52 The Copernicus Anthropogenic Carbon Dioxide Monitoring (CO2M) mission will be the first satellite mission to measure how much carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere through human activity. CO2M isn't just a mission; it's a crucial step in our commitment to understanding and mitigating climate change. It will offer unprecedented precision in monitoring carbon dioxide emissions from the combustion of fossil fuel at national and regional scales. Its data will provide the EU with a unique and independent source of information to assess the effectiveness of policy measures and to track their impact towards decarbonising Europe ahead of the next …
Last reply by European Space Agency, -
- 0 replies
- 135 views
As the planet warms, many parts of the Earth system are undergoing large-scale changes. Ice sheets are shrinking, sea levels are rising and coral reefs are dying off. While climate records are being continuously broken, the cumulative impact of these changes could also cause fundamental parts of the Earth system to change dramatically. These ‘tipping points’ of climate change are critical thresholds in that, if exceeded, can lead to irreversible consequences. View the full article
Last reply by European Space Agency, -
- 0 replies
- 129 views
Image: All-in-one YPSat, Ariane 6 bound View the full article
Last reply by European Space Agency, -
- 0 replies
- 144 views
To make the future of Galileo a reality, ESA and European industry are hard at work developing ultra-precise atomic clocks, system testbeds, ground mission and ground control segments and, of course, the satellites. Airbus Defence and Space, who is building six of the Galileo Second Generation constellation satellites, presented their first flight model structure to the programme’s stakeholders last week. View the full article
Last reply by European Space Agency, -
Video: 00:20:11 ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen called several ESERO establishments in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland where over 1000 students were waiting to ask questions about life in space and how science on the International Space Station can benefit life on Earth. Check it out to learn more about how water is recycled on the Space Station and what you need to be a good astronaut. View the full article
Last reply by European Space Agency, -
- 0 replies
- 151 views
In a significant step towards a more sustainable future, ESA and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding during Earth Information Day at COP28 currently taking place in Dubai. The memorandum signifies a commitment to harness the power of space technology and data for environmental conservation, nature and biodiversity protection and restoration. View the full article
Last reply by European Space Agency, -
- 0 replies
- 117 views
Delegates from around 200 countries are convened at the United Nations COP28 summit in Dubai to assess the action they are taking to combat the climate crisis. With satellites fundamental to understanding and monitoring climate change, ESA has awarded a contract to Airbus to take the TRUTHS satellite mission to its next development phase. TRUTHS is set to provide the gold reference for climate measurements, thereby giving decision-makers more confidence in the data they use for climate action. View the full article
Last reply by European Space Agency, -
- 0 replies
- 261 views
Six years of hard work and dedication paid off in spectacular fashion today, as the Educational Irish Research Satellite, EIRSAT-1, successfully blasted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. Hitching a ride on a Space-X Falcon-9 launcher, the tiny satellite – measuring just 10.7cm x 10.7cm x 22.7cm – has now made history as Ireland’s first satellite! View the full article
Last reply by European Space Agency, -
- 0 replies
- 147 views
Video: 00:04:04 On 1 December 2023, at 19:19 CET (18:18 GMT), Ireland's first satellite EIRSAT-1 launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, USA. Built by students at University College Dublin under guidance of ESA’s Education Office, EIRSAT-1 is a 2-unit CubeSat carrying three experiments, including a novel gamma ray detector that will study some of the most luminous explosions in the universe. The mission has been in development since the team was accepted to the ESA Academy Fly Your Satellite! programme in 2017. Over the past six years, the students have worked with ESA experts and acquired the professional competences needed to design and bui…
Last reply by European Space Agency, -
- 0 replies
- 134 views
Week in images: 27 November - 01 December 2023 Discover our week through the lens View the full article
Last reply by European Space Agency, -
- 0 replies
- 104 views
Image: The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission shows us an amazing view of the tropical island of Tutuila, the largest in the American Samoa archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean. View the full article
Last reply by European Space Agency, -
- 0 replies
- 116 views
Image: After being grounded on the ocean floor for well over four decades, the largest iceberg in the world is on the loose. View the full article
Last reply by European Space Agency, -
- 0 replies
- 172 views
Video: 00:12:34 Almost 200 countries are gathering in Dubai to attend the biggest climate event of the year. COP28 – the 2023 United Nations climate change summit – isn’t just another conference though. For the first time, country representatives will assess the progress they’ve made towards cutting their greenhouse gas emissions through a process called the ‘global stocktake’. Satellites are critical in the quest to tackle climate change as they give the robustness and transparency needed to monitor progress towards a lower-emissions and more resilient world. If undertaken effectively, the global stocktake can provide an opportunity to leverage decisions and acce…
Last reply by European Space Agency, -
- 0 replies
- 125 views
An international team of astronomers have used the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope to provide the first observation of water and other molecules in the inner, rocky-planet-forming regions of a disc in one of the most extreme environments in our galaxy. View the full article
Last reply by European Space Agency, -
- 0 replies
- 94 views
Image: Hera asteroid mission, shaken not stirred View the full article
Last reply by European Space Agency, -
- 0 replies
- 189 views
Video: 00:08:29 Focus on Euclid with Laurent Brouard: “I’m going to show you what a telescope that we send into space looks like.” Laurent Brouard, Project Manager at Airbus Defence and Space, was responsible for building the Euclid payload module (PLM). In this interview, which took place in a clean room at the Airbus premises in Toulouse, he describes with words, gestures, and the Euclid PLM structural and thermal model how Euclid works. Did you know that Euclid sees the same part of the sky at the same time in both the infrared and visible wavelengths? Or that in space radiators keep the instruments cold? Have you ever wondered how light “travels” inside Eucli…
Last reply by European Space Agency, -
- 0 replies
- 145 views
As global temperatures records are smashed and greenhouse gas emissions reach new highs, a new report from the UN Environment Programme finds that current pledges under the Paris Agreement put the world on track for a 2.5–2.9°C temperature rise this century – pointing to the urgent need for increased climate action. The report is timely as nearly 200 nations gather in the coming two weeks at the United Nations COP28 Climate Change Summit to conclude the world’s first ever ‘Global Stocktake’ on climate change. Swift and sustained climate action is needed to avoid the worst consequences of climate change. Satellites are critical tools in the quest to tackle climate change a…
Last reply by European Space Agency, -
- 0 replies
- 211 views
Video: 01:00:00 Watch the replay of the media briefing on Ariane 6 during which ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher outlines the progress achieved after the successful hot firing test on 23 November 2023 at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, as well as the upcoming steps in the Ariane 6 development test campaign, including ESA, CNES and ArianeGroup targeting the first launch of Ariane 6 between mid June and end of July 2024. Participants also includes Martin Sion, CEO, ArianeGroup ; Philippe Baptiste, President of CNES and Stéphane Israël, CEO, Arianespace. View the full article
Last reply by European Space Agency, -
- 0 replies
- 140 views
Video: 00:02:16 Scenes from the combined hot-fire test held for Ariane 6 on 23 November 2023. Teams on the ground went through a complete launch countdown followed by a seven-minute full firing of the core stage’s engine, as it would fire on a launch into space. This video shows the Ariane 6 mobile building opening its doors, the building rolling away to leave the Ariane 6 test model on the launch pad and the seven minutes of firing. On the launch pad in Kourou, French Guiana, the Ariane 6 test model fired of its Vulcain 2.1 main stage engine for seven minutes. This engine, on a real flight, would work with the boosters to propel the 62-m-tall rocket off Earth and…
Last reply by European Space Agency, -
- 0 replies
- 187 views
View the full article
Last reply by European Space Agency, -
- 0 replies
- 159 views
In around six months, ESA’s Earth Cloud Aerosol and Radiation Explorer mission will take to the skies to advance our understanding of the interactions between clouds, aerosols and radiation in Earth’s atmosphere. But how will it do that exactly? View the full article
Last reply by European Space Agency, -
- 0 replies
- 193 views
Video: 00:03:39 Focus on Euclid with Guadalupe Cañas Herrera: “I’m exactly where I’ve always wanted to be.” Guadalupe Cañas Herrera, an ESA Internal Research Fellow currently working for ESA’s Euclid mission at ESTEC, the Netherlands, describes in this interview her personal and professional trajectory. Passionate about space since her early childhood, she has spent endless nights looking at the stars. Now, this theoretical physicist develops her activities within the Euclid Scientific Consortium to establish the quantity of dark matter and dark energy existing in the Universe. Listen to Guadalupe for a vivid account from a vocational scientist and an ardent defen…
Last reply by European Space Agency,