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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Jupiter’s moon Europa is one of a handful of worlds in our Solar System that could potentially harbour conditions suitable for life. Previous research has shown that beneath its water-ice crust lies a salty ocean of liquid water with a rocky seafloor. However, planetary scientists had not confirmed whether or not that ocean contained the chemicals needed for life, particularly carbon. View the full article
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Keeping European citizens safe from cyberattacks that can lead to the disruption of essential supplies – such as power, water and the flow of crucial information – is vital in today’s increasingly digital world. ESA and the European Commission have today signed an agreement to use space to help keep information secure. View the full article
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More than 15 000 visitors are getting ready to pass through ESA's gateways during ESA Open Days 2023. This Europe-wide series of events promises to connect space enthusiasts, bringing space closer to them than ever before. Unforgettable days of discoveries, inspiration, and scientific divulgation await thousands of European citizens, who are eagerly gearing up for a fantastic journey through the wonders of space. View the full article
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Image: Is it a spacecraft? An asteroid? Well, both. This small central speck is the first image of a spacecraft on its way home, carrying with it a sample from an asteroid hundreds-of-millions, if-not-billions-of-years old. The spacecraft is NASA’s OSIRIS-REx, the asteroid is Bennu. On Sunday 24 September, the mission will drop its rocky sample off to fall through Earth’s atmosphere and land safely back home, before it continues on to study the once rather scary asteroid Apophis. Spotted on 16 September by ESA’s Optical Ground Station (OGS) telescope in Tenerife, OSIRIS-REx was 4.66 million km from Earth. This image is a combination of 90 individual images, each 36-sec…
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Video: 00:00:56 Did you know, the Northern lights or Aurora Borealis are created when the mythical Finnish ‘Firefox’ runs so quickly across the snow that its tail causes sparks to fly into the night sky? At least, that’s one of the stories that has been told in Finland about this beautiful phenomenon. Another that we love comes from the Sámi people of Finnish Lapland (among others), who describe them as plumes of water ejected by whales. What do they look like, to you? Today’s scientific explanation for the origin of the Aurora wasn’t thought up until the 20th Century, by the Norwegian scientist Kristian Birkeland. Charged particles, electrons and protons, are con…
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ESA will open its doors to members of the public at its Earth Observation centre in Frascati, near Rome, Italy, on 29 September, as part of its annual open day. View the full article
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In the quest to address climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, detecting methane leaks – a potent contributor to global warming – has become increasingly vital. Researchers are harnessing the capabilities of cutting-edge satellite technology to monitor these leaks from space. View the full article
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Image: From left: the Artemis II astronauts, Christina Koch, Jeremy Hansen, Victor Glover, and Reid Wiseman, visited the European Service Module (ESM) assembly hall at Airbus in Bremen, Germany, last week. View the full article
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Video: 00:09:37 The successful last Ariane 6 launch system combined tests HFT-3, at the German Aerospace Center in Lampoldshausen; and CTLO1-C, at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, show the strength of European industrial and institutional collaboration. The “Space Team Europe” gets one step closer to the Ariane 6 first flight. View the full article
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British electronics specialist Filtronic is developing advanced technology that will enable next-generation satellite constellations to deliver high-speed broadband internet coverage. View the full article
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Image: This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image features swirls of vivid, emerald green algal blooms in the Gulf of Finland. View the full article
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One of the experiments during ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen’s mission will track his health and body vital signs during his daily exercise in space. View the full article
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Image: HH 211 (NIRCam image) View the full article
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A cosmic alignment and a little bit of spacecraft gymnastics has provided a ground-breaking measurement that is helping solve the 65-year-old cosmic mystery of why the Sun’s atmosphere is so hot. View the full article
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Following the devastating earthquake that struck Morocco on 8 September, satellite data have been made available through the International Charter ‘Space and Major Disasters’ to help emergency response teams on the ground. In addition, radar measurements from Europe’s Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellite mission are being used to analyse how the ground has shifted as a result of the quake, which will not only help in planning the eventual reconstruction but will also further scientific research. View the full article
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ESA is providing retailers with an exclusive opportunity to supply official ESA products through a new B2B platform. View the full article
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Image: Mini space thruster that runs on water View the full article
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Are you a creative visionary with a passion for climate action? Enter ESA’s latest competition to showcase your talent by transforming decades of satellite climate data into impactful visuals to help bridge the gap between climate science, policy makers and the wider public. The winner will have the unique opportunity to display their data visualisation at the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) taking place later this year. View the full article
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ESA project astronaut Marcus Wandt from Sweden will travel to the International Space Station (ISS) on Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) no earlier than January 2024. View the full article
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A new streaming platform is set to inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers, and astronauts, bringing the wonders of space closer to classrooms than ever before. Schools across Europe are invited to embark on this cosmic journey! View the full article
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A new investigation by an international team of astronomers using data from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope into K2-18 b, an exoplanet 8.6 times as massive as Earth, has revealed the presence of carbon-bearing molecules including methane and carbon dioxide. The discovery adds to recent studies suggesting that K2-18 b could be a Hycean exoplanet, one which has the potential to possess a hydrogen-rich atmosphere and a water ocean-covered surface. View the full article
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Video: 00:00:14 In a significant leap forward for meteorology, the preliminary data obtained by Meteosat Third Generation’s two instruments, the Flexible Combined Imager (FCI) and the Lightning Imager (LI), were successfully combined today for the first time – highlighting their complementary capabilities. This first set of animations gives us a preview of the system’s future impact. This animation shows the combined observations from the Meteosat Third Generation’s instruments starting at 12:00 UTC on 03 June 2023 and ending at 12:00 UTC of 04 June 2023. Lightning activity is more intense over central Africa, the northern part of South America, Europe and the Mid…
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ESA satnav receiver vans – driving between the busy heart of Rotterdam, quiet countryside, and the Agency’s ESTEC technical centre – have confirmed that Galileo signals now provide a first position fix more rapidly, while also offering improved robustness in challenging environments and streamlined access to time information. View the full article
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ESA is testing kombucha cultures, famous for their fermentative properties and potential health benefits, to assess their resilience in space. These cultures hold great promise for supporting humans on the Moon and Mars. View the full article
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