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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The dusty faces of the Moon and Mars conceal unseen hazards for future explorers. Areas of highly oxidising material could be sufficiently reactive that they would produce chemical burns on astronauts’ unprotected skin or lungs. Taking inspiration from a pioneering search for Martian life, a Greek team is developing a device to detect these ‘reactive oxygen species’ – as well as harvest sufficient oxygen from them to keep astronauts breathing indefinitely. View the full article
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Today, the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over the Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe. The mountain range forms a natural border between France and Spain with the small, landlocked country of Andorra sandwiched in between. View the full article
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Image: Aerial antenna for Venus mission test View the full article
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Human-induced climate change is causing dangerous and widespread disruption in nature, affecting the lives of billions of people around the world, according to the latest state of the climate report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published this week. The report utilises satellite observations as crucial input, including several long-term datasets of key aspects of the climate, known as Essential Climate Variables, generated via Europe’s leading research teams working as part of ESA’s Climate Change initiative. View the full article
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Video: 00:04:00 Twenty years ago, on the first of March 2002, ESA launched a new satellite to monitor our planet from space: Envisat. This research mission, which carried 10 instruments, would become a beacon for the development of future Earth observation satellites. In orbit for 10 years, double its projected lifespan, this flagship mission provided science with a wealth of data on the health of our planet and climate change – a treasure trove of data that is still used today. Thanks to the Heritage Space Programme, ESA ensures these precious data are preserved and made accessible for future generations. This report includes interviews with : - Simonetta Cheli, …
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Press Release N° 6–2022 We deplore the human casualties and tragic consequences of the war in Ukraine. We are giving absolute priority to taking proper decisions, not only for the sake of our workforce involved in the programmes, but in full respect of our European values, which have always fundamentally shaped our approach to international cooperation. View the full article
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Video: 00:02:58 Europe’s Columbus laboratory is a hive of activity in this 360° timelapse as ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer works on an experiment called Fluidics and his NASA colleague Raja Chari carries out activity in the Veggie plant habitat. Developed by French space agency CNES and co-funded by Airbus, the Fluidics experiment investigates how liquids behave in space. It was first run by ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet in 2017 during his Proxima mission. Made up of six small, transparent spheres housed in the black centrifuge seen here, the experiment studies two phenomena. The first is ‘sloshing’ or how liquids move in enclosed spaces. The second is wave turbule…
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Image: Happy 100 days in space to ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer. The first-time space flier marked the milestone on 19 February 2022 and what a busy 100-days it been. In a Twitter post marking the milestone, Matthias wrote, “100 days may sound like a lot, but it feels like I've only just arrived.” Even before launching for his Cosmic Kiss mission on a SpaceX Dragon as part of Crew-3, Matthias was on the science, providing researchers with pre-flight measurements for a variety of experiments. Since arriving, Matthias has continued to be poked and prodded while working, exercising and even sleeping, all in the name of science and exploration. Experiments like Myotones an…
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Week in images: 21 - 25 February 2022 Discover our week through the lens View the full article
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To celebrate the recent data release from Landsat 9, this week we take a closer look at a part of Washington state – the northwesternmost state of the US – through the lens of Landsat 9. View the full article
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According to a new study, the world’s largest lakes are being hit by severe heatwaves six times as frequently as they were around two decades ago. Using data from ESA’s Climate Change Initiative, the study states that severe lake heatwaves are twice as likely to occur on average, compared to a pre-industrial climate. View the full article
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Video: 00:12:24 Are you curious to know how a telescope works? Join ESA astronomer Giovanna Giardino as she gives an insight into the inner workings of the world’s largest telescope in space, the extraordinary James Webb Space Telescope. Find more episodes in the Meet the Experts series here. View the full article
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Video: 00:01:00 The NIRSpec instrument is the workhorse near-infrared spectrograph on board the James Webb Space Telescope and is provided by ESA. NIRSpec will allow scientists to study objects embedded in shrouds of gas and dust, to find out more about how galaxies formed and evolved, and to characterise the atmospheres of exoplanet to determine if water is present. The primary goal of NIRSpec is to enable large spectroscopic surveys of astronomical objects like stars or distant galaxies. This is made possible by its powerful multi-object spectroscopy mode, which will make use of use of roughly a quarter of a million tiny configurable shutters, which are each com…
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The ESA YGT call for applications closes 28 February 2022. Don’t hesitate to apply and kick-start your career in space today! Positions are available in engineering, science, IT and business services. Find out more and apply now. View the full article
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Video: 00:06:06 Join ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer on a 360° fly-through of Europe’s Columbus laboratory, Japan’s Kibo Module and the Crew Dragon capsule on the International Space Station. Matthias has been living and working on the International Space Station for around 100 days, following the launch of Crew-3 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on 11 November 2021. He will spend approximately six months in orbit for his Cosmic Kiss mission. Much of this time is being spent inside the Columbus lab supporting European and international science. Columbus is ESA’s single largest contribution to the International Space Station and was also the first permanen…
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Image: ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst visited Thales Alenia Space in Turin recently to test out and provide feedback on accommodations for the next human outpost in space, the lunar Gateway. As the name implies, the Gateway will be located within the Moon’s orbit and is being built by Thales Alenia Space on behalf of ESA. Among its components is the International Habitation Module or I-Hab. As crew quarters are designed with humans in mind, Alex both toured the mock-up and stepped into the crew quarter simulator to provide some experienced feedback. After two missions to the International Space Station – Blue Dot (2014) and Horizons (2018) – totalling 362 days in spac…
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Image: ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst visited Thales Alenia Space in Turin recently to test out and provide feedback on accommodations for the next human outpost in space, the lunar Gateway. As the name implies, the Gateway will be located within the Moon’s orbit and is being built by Thales Alenia Space on behalf of ESA. Among its components is the International Habitation Module or I-Hab. As crew quarters are designed with humans in mind, Alex both toured the mock-up and stepped into the crew quarter simulator to provide some experienced feedback. After two missions to the International Space Station – Blue Dot (2014) and Horizons (2018) – totalling 362 days in spac…
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Week in images: 14 - 18 February 2022 Discover our week through the lens View the full article
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The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over Tenerife – the largest of Spain’s Canary Islands. View the full article
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The ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter spacecraft has captured the largest solar prominence eruption ever observed in a single image together with the full solar disc. View the full article
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Video: 00:04:40 English - 100 days of Cosmic Kis On 11 November 2021, ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer was launched to the International Space Station for his first mission, Cosmic Kiss. Around 100 days later, we reflect on some highlights from space. Matthias flew to the Station on a SpaceX Crew Dragon alongside NASA astronauts and fellow first-time fliers Kayla Barron and Raja Chari, and NASA spaceflight veteran Tom Marshburn. Collectively known as Crew-3, they were welcomed as members of Expedition 66 by Commander Anton Shkaplerov, cosmonaut Pyotr Dubrov and NASA’s Mark Vande Hei. While in orbit, Matthias is supporting over 35 European and many more international …
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Video: 00:12:41 ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher speaks at the start of the ESA Council Meeting at Ministerial Level, part of the Space Summit in Toulouse, on 16 February 2022. Watch the other Space Summit videos. View the full article
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Video: 00:08:47 ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano presents the European Astronauts’ Manifesto during the Space Summit in Toulouse, on 16 February 2022. Watch the other Space Summit videos. View the full article
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Video: 00:02:19 As part of Agenda 2025, ESA will take preparatory steps towards a sample return mission from the moons of giant planets, and will foster innovation by challenging commercial companies to develop a next generation of competitively priced European space transportation systems. Space science and planetary exploration have a unique inspirational power for engaging young generations in science, technology, engineering and maths, creating a highly educated workforce for the future. Collaborating with the European space industry to foster innovation generates economic growth and new revenues, as well as creating new jobs for European citizens. All the mon…
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