European Space Agency

Space has led to technological innovations with wide-ranging applications in healthcare. Beyond consumer gadgets, such as wireless headsets and scratch-resistant lenses, space exploration is a catalyst for understanding the human body and advancing scientific results that benefit people worldwide. Here are Europe’s top 5 stories in space for your health. Gravity affects everything we do and everything that happens inside and around us. On Earth’s surface, everything is subject to an average gravitational acceleration of 9.81 m/s2, or what we call 1 g. This acceleration keeps us grounded but it also influences all reactions and phenomena around us, from falling apples to cell growth. Microgravity conditions allow scientists to study phenomena free from the influence of gravity and investigate in depth the fundamental mechanisms at play. The International Space Station provides uninterrupted periods of weightlessness and offers the opportunity for scientists to conduct research, with the help of astronauts on board, that would be impossible to perform on Earth. View the full article

Image: This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image features the ice tongue of the Dawson-Lambton Glacier in Antarctica. View the full article

Video: 00:07:30 Meet the people working on the testing of Ariane 6. Europe’s next rocket, Ariane 6, has passed all its qualification tests in preparation for its first flight, and now the full-scale test model will be removed from the launch pad to make way for the real rocket that will ascend to space. To make way for launch, teams from ArianeGroup, France’s space agency CNES and ESA have started to remove the Ariane 6 test model by disconnecting the cables and fuel lines that pass through the launch tower. Find out about the progress being made at the end of testing by the people who know Ariane 6 best. Featuring interviews with ESA’s launch system architect Pier Domenico Resta, CNES Inspector General Bernard Chemoul, CNES Ariane 6 project manager Olivier Bugnet, ESA Launch system engineer Frank Saingou, ArianeGroup system test program manager Valérie and ArianeGroup production engineering manager Lydia Amakoud. Ariane 6 is an all-new design, created to succeed Ariane 5 as Europe's heavy-lift launch system. With Ariane 6's upper stage restart capability, Europe's launch capability will be tailored to the needs of multiple payload missions, for example to orbit satellite constellations. This autonomous capability to reach Earth orbit and deep space supports Europe's navigation, Earth observation, scientific and security programmes. Ongoing development of Europe's space transportation capabilities is made possible by the sustained dedication of thousands of talented people working in ESA's 22 Member States. View the full article

Image: Proba-3's laser-precise positioning View the full article

Video: 00:09:47 According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), global agricultural production will need to increase by 60% by 2050 to meet the food demands of the growing global population. A new satellite called Copernicus Hyperspectral Imaging Mission for the Environment, or CHIME, is being developed to support EU policies on the management of natural resources – ultimately helping to address the global issue of food security. CHIME will carry a unique visible to shortwave infrared spectrometer to provide routine hyperspectral observations to support new and enhanced services for sustainable agricultural and biodiversity management, as well as soil property characterisation. CHIME is one of six Copernicus Sentinel Expansion missions that ESA is developing on behalf of the EU. The missions will expand the current capabilities of the Copernicus Space Component – the world’s biggest supplier of Earth observation data. This video features interviews with Marco Celesti, CHIME Mission Scientist and Jens Nieke, CHIME Project Manager. View the full article

The ESA Young Graduate Trainee call for applications closes on 7 March 2024. Don’t hesitate to apply and kick-start your career in space today! Positions are available in engineering, science, IT and business services.   View the full article

Using the unprecedented capabilities of the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, an international team of scientists has obtained the first spectroscopic observations of the faintest galaxies during the first billion years of the Universe. These findings help answer a longstanding question for astronomers: what sources caused the reionisation of the Universe? View the full article

ESA’s Mars Express has captured an intriguing view near Mars’s north pole, imaging where vast sand dunes meet the many layers of dusty ice covering the planet’s pole. View the full article

Video: 00:02:10 The largest components for the first flight model of Europe’s new rocket Ariane 6 arrived at the port of Pariacabo in Kourou, French Guiana on 21 February 2024 via the novel ship, Canopée (canopy in French). The Ariane 6 stages and components are all manufactured across Europe. On this trip, Canopée brought the central core for Ariane 6’s first flight. The main engine and the main stage were integrated in Les Mureaux, France, while the upper stage and insulation for the rocket’s exterior were built up in Bremen, Germany. The various Ariane 6 components are then offloaded and transported by road to the new Ariane 6 launch vehicle assembly building just a few kilometres away. Here, the launcher stages are unpacked and installed on the assembly line for integration, and finally, liftoff. The Ariane 6 boosters are already in Europe’s Spaceport after their production in Italy, they are the same P120C solid propulsion boosters as used for Europe’s Vega-C rocket. First the central core will be assembled horizontally after which it is transported to the launchpad. Here it will be lifted into the upright position after which Boosters and the upper stage will be added inside the mobile gantry. This summer Flight Model-1 will be ready to let its engine rumble and fly. For the full b-roll sets for launch campaign -> https://www.esa.int/esatv/Videos/2024/02/Ariane_6_inaugural_launch and tests and development -> https://www.esa.int/esatv/Videos/2022/08/Ariane_6_development_-_clips View the full article

ESA’s Hera spacecraft for planetary defence is being prepared for a journey to the distant asteroid moon Dimorphos orbiting around its parent body Didymos. One of the first features Hera will look for is the crater left on Dimorphos by its predecessor mission DART, which impacted the asteroid to deflect its orbit. Yet a new impact simulation study reported in Nature Astronomy today suggests no crater will be found. The DART impact is likely to have remodelled the entire body instead – a significant finding for both asteroid science and planetary defence. View the full article

Image: ERS-2 buckles and bends during final farewell View the full article

Week in images: 19-23 February 2024 Discover our week through the lens View the full article

Video: 00:03:29 Mission complete. ESA’s second European Remote Sensing (ERS-2) satellite has reentered Earth’s atmosphere over the North Pacific Ocean. The satellite returned at 18:17 CET (17:17 UTC) between Alaska and Hawaii. ERS-2 was launched almost 30 years ago, on 21 April 1995. Together with ERS-1, it provided invaluable long-term data on Earth’s land surfaces, ocean temperatures, ozone layer and polar ice extent that revolutionised our understanding of the Earth system. ERS-2’s reentry was ‘natural’. ESA used the last of its fuel, emptied its batteries and lowered the satellite from its altitude of 785 km to 573 km. This reduced the risk of collision with other satellites and space debris. As a result, it was not possible to control ERS-2 at any point during its reentry and the only force driving its descent was unpredictable atmospheric drag. As well as leaving a remarkable legacy of data that still continue to advance science, this outstanding mission set the stage for many of today’s satellites and ESA’s position at the forefront of Earth observation. The ERS-2 reentry is part of ESA's wider efforts to ensure the long-term sustainability of space activities. These include ESA's Clean Space initiative which promotes the development of new technologies for more sustainable space missions in collaboration with the wider European space community, as well as the Zero Debris Approach, which will even further reduce the debris left in both Earth and lunar orbits by future missions. View the full article

Image: This Copernicus Sentinel-3 image from October 2023 captures the plains of northern India and Pakistan under a white veil of haze and smoke. View the full article

The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has found the best evidence yet for emission from a neutron star at the site of a recently observed supernova. The supernova, known as SN 1987A, occurred 160 000 light-years from Earth in the Large Magellanic Cloud. SN 1987A was observed on Earth in 1987, the first supernova that was visible to the naked eye since 1604 — before the advent of telescopes. View the full article

Video: 00:15:00 Tracking ice lost from the world’s glaciers, ice sheets and frozen land shows that Earth is losing ice at an accelerating rate. Monitoring the cryosphere is crucial for assessing, predicting and adapting to climate change. The Copernicus Polar Ice and Snow Topography Altimeter (CRISTAL) mission will provide a full picture of the changes taking place in some of the most inhospitable regions of the world. It will carry – for the first time – a dual-frequency radar altimeter, and microwave radiometer, that will measure and monitor sea-ice thickness, overlying snow depth and ice-sheet elevations. These data will support maritime operations in the polar oceans and contribute to a better understanding of climate processes. CRISTAL will also support applications related to coastal and inland waters, as well as providing observations of ocean topography. CRISTAL is one of six Copernicus Sentinel Expansion missions that ESA is developing on behalf of the EU. The missions will expand the current capabilities of the Copernicus Space Component – the world’s biggest supplier of Earth observation data. This video features interviews with Kristof Gantois, CRISTAL Project Manager and Paolo Cipollini, CRISTAL Mission Scientist. View the full article

Playing a huge role in moderating the climate, oceans are fundamental to the functioning of our planet. Understanding more about how seawater temperatures are rising and how oceans are absorbing excess atmospheric carbon dioxide, as well as knock-on issues such as ocean acidification, is key for understanding climate change and for taking effective action. A recent scientific paper highlights just how satellites are becoming increasingly important in providing unique information on ocean health to guide climate mitigation and adaptation efforts. View the full article

Image: Ariane 6 ready for unloading View the full article

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Image: Ariane 6 arrives at Europe’s Spaceport via Canopée View the full article

Further embracing the New Space era, ESA is to develop two new Scout satellites: NanoMagSat and Tango. NanoMagSat will measure Earth’s magnetic field to help assess space weather hazards and continue on from ESA’s current Swarm mission. Tango will measure greenhouse-gas emissions from human activity and complements the upcoming Copernicus Carbon Dioxide Monitoring mission and the Sentinel-5 mission, as well as the current Sentinel-5P mission. View the full article

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It's 'Lights, camera and... action!' for ESA as the agency launches Film ESA, a dedicated film location guide. View the full article

Image: Before and after satellite images from the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission show the scale of the oil spill that occurred off the shores of Trinidad and Tobago’s coastline earlier this week. View the full article