European Space Agency

Image: The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission captured a rare, cloud-free image over the Portuguese archipelago of Madeira in the North Atlantic Ocean. View the full article

ESA’s Earth Return Orbiter, the first spacecraft that will rendezvous and capture an object around another planet, passed a key milestone to bring the first Mars samples back to Earth. View the full article

Image: Ariane 6 first flight timeline View the full article

Offering a foretaste of what’s to come once it is fully commissioned, ESA’s EarthCARE satellite has returned the first images from its broadband radiometer instrument. These initial images offer a tantalising glimpse into the intricacies of our planet’s energy balance – a delicate balance that governs our climate. View the full article

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Image: Eye test for lunar impact surveyor View the full article

Image: Ariane 6 first passengers View the full article

A network of ground stations around the world, including two owned by ESA, will track the debut flight of Europe’s new Ariane 6 rocket. They will monitor key phases of the flight and gather telemetry and video that will be used to analyse the rocket’s performance and optimise future launches. View the full article

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Video: 00:02:05 Space weather can affect satellites in orbit, trigger geomagnetic storms on Earth and interfere with ground infrastructure. We need to understand it better, and the best way to do that is look at where it comes from. The Sun’s corona, its upper atmospheric layer, gives rise to the solar wind and is where coronal mass ejections are spawned: massive outward explosions of charged plasma. ESA’s Proba-3 double-satellite mission will use formation flying to open up sustained coronal views. Mimicking a total solar eclipse, one satellite will block out the fiery face of the Sun by casting a shadow onto the other. This means the mission can observe the fine-scale structures of the corona without being blinded by the Sun’s glare. View the full article

Thousands of visitors flocked to ESA’s establishment in the UK last Saturday to experience first-hand how the agency is pushing the boundaries of exploration and using space to improve life on Earth. View the full article

A fascinating feature takes centre stage in this new image from ESA’s Mars Express: a dark, uneven scar slicing through marbled ground at the foot of a giant volcano. View the full article

Artificial intelligence technologies have achieved remarkable successes and continue to show their value as backbones in scientific research and real-world applications. ESA’s new Φsat-2 mission, launching in the coming weeks, will push the boundaries of AI for Earth observation – demonstrating the transformative potential of AI for space technology. View the full article

Video: 00:38:43 Australian Space Agency astronaut candidate Katherine Bennell-Pegg joined ESA’s astronaut candidates from the class of 2022 for basic training through a cooperation agreement with ESA. Tune in as she shares her experiences in astronaut training, her favourite lessons, and what keeps her inspired on her journey to the stars! This is episode 7 of our ESA Explores podcast series introducing the ESA astronaut class of 2022, recorded in March 2024. Find out more about the ESA astronaut class of 2022. Access all ESA Explores podcasts. View the full article

Week in images: 24-28 June 2024 Discover our week through the lens View the full article

Video: 00:03:00 On 20 June 2024 the first Ariane 6 rocket to launch into space went through its last full ‘wet dress rehearsal’ at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana – it provided an exciting sneak peek of what’s to come, stopping just a few seconds before engine ignition and of course, liftoff. One of the first steps was to roll back the colossal 90-m tall Ariane 6 mobile gantry building 120 m away from the launch pad – the first moment the complete rocket stood free. The first parts of Ariane 6 began arriving in French Guiana from continental Europe in February 2024 via the Canopée ‘spaceship’. In March, the main stage and upper stage were assembled, followed by the transfer of the two powerful P120C boosters in April. In May, Ariane 6’s first passengers also arrived in Kourou – a varied selection of experiments, satellites, payload deployers and reentry demonstrations that represent thousands across Europe, from students to industry and experienced space actors NASA and ArianeGroup. The payloads were integrated onto the ‘ballast’ at the end of May, and just a few days ago the ballast was fitted onto the top of the rocket and the fairing closed around it – the last time Ariane 6’s cargo would see light. From Earth observation to technology demonstrations testing wildlife tracking, 3D printing in open space, open-source software and hardware and science missions looking for the most energetic explosions in the universe, the passengers on Ariane 6’s first flight are a testament to the rocket’s adaptability, complexity, and its role for the future – launching any mission, anywhere. View the full article

Video: 00:07:14 Have you ever wondered what an impact crater looks like from space? Today, we’re counting down some of our favourite impact craters here on Earth – captured by Earth-observing satellites. Craters are inevitably part of being a rocky planet. They occur on every planetary body in our solar system – no matter the size. By studying impact craters and the meteorites that cause them, we can learn more about the processes and geology that shape our entire solar system. View the full article

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Image: Ahead of Asteroid Day, the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over the Meteor Crater, also known as the Barringer Meteorite Crater. View the full article

Take off with ESA Impact! Ariane 6 and astronaut news await Welcome to the 2024 second quarter edition of ESA Impact. View the full article

The two Proba-3 satellites were set facing each other across a cleanroom as cameras, LEDs, a laser and shadow sensors were activated in turn, testing the systems that will let the pair sense their precise positions relative to each other, allowing them to line up precisely in orbit down to a single millimetre. View the full article

ESA’s Hera mission is due to launch in October this year on a quest to survey the Didymos binary asteroid system and study the results of the first-ever test of asteroid deflection. The spacecraft is currently undergoing its final system tests in the Netherlands in preparation for transport to its launch site in the USA. Meanwhile, in Germany, Hera’s Mission Control Team recently began launch preparations of their own. View the full article

Image: Proba-2’s glimpse of home View the full article

Less than a month after it was launched, ESA’s EarthCARE satellite has returned the first image from one of its instruments – an image that, for the first time from space, unveils the internal structure and dynamics of clouds. This remarkable first image, captured by the satellite’s cloud profiling radar, offers a mere glimpse of the instrument's full potential once it is fully calibrated. View the full article

Video: 00:13:39 In this first episode of our docu-series, we embark on the exciting journey of the YPSat (Young Professional Satellite), a satellite flying on-board the inaugural flight of Ariane 6, Europe’s new heavy launcher. Two years ago, a team of Young Professionals at ESA, with diverse backgrounds, nationalities and expertise, have come together around one passion and with one ambition; design, manufacture and send their own satellite to space. Starting with some trivial ideas, the team matured their mission objectives and won the approval and support of ESA management to kick start the project. YPSat will be ‘the witness’ of Ariane 6: it will record the fairing separation, document the CubeSats deployment and send back beautiful in-orbit images of Earth and space. This scaled-down mission has all the ingredients of a large flagship mission; engineering, verification, testing and production assurance; project management, tight schedule, team coordination and communication; failures, crisis situations and successes. YPSat is a blueprint for the future of European space exploration. It has been a life changing opportunity for young professionals at ESA to get hands-on experience and experience the process of developing a space mission. But it has also been an eye-opening occasion for the European Space Agency to get inspired by the young generations, bringing in new ideas and technologies. This is just the beginning of the adventure for the YPSat team. The next episode will unravel the creativity, ingenuity and determination that the young professionals brought in to achieve the mission’s objectives. What powers the satellite? Who activates the cameras? How is the data transmitted back on Earth? Credits: Directed and produced by Chilled Winston: https://chilledwinston.com/ and Emma de Cocker Powered by ESA - European Space Agency Music from Epidemic Sound View the full article