European Space Agency

Video: 00:05:52 On 26 August 2023, at 09:27 CEST (08:27 BST), Crew-7 aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft Endurance embarked on a journey to the International Space Station. Watch the full coverage of their launch from pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA. Andreas serves as pilot and has become the first European to take that role. He is sitting next to Crew-7's commander and NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli. Andreas is responsible for the spacecraft’s performance and systems. Accompanying them are mission specialists Satoshi Furukawa from JAXA and Konstantin Borisov from Roscomos. Andreas’s Huginn mission officially begins when Endurance docks with the Station. The name Huggin, which translates to ‘thought’ and traces back to the raven of Norse god Odin, symbolises the raven's pursuit of knowledge. Similarly, Andreas is embarking on this mission to gather scientific information. Aboard the Space Station, Andreas’ tasks will include monitoring 3D-printing metal objects with an ESA printer and controlling a group of robots on Earth from the European Columbus module. For more about Andreas and his Huginn mission, visit the Huginn mission page. Access the related broadcast quality video material. View the full article

Week in images: 21-25 August 2023 Discover our week through the lens View the full article

What is ESA? THIS is ESA Explore this interactive illustrated guide to what ESA is and what we do - available in all ESA Member State langauges View the full article

The ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter spacecraft has discovered a multitude of tiny jets of material escaping from the Sun’s outer atmosphere. Each jet lasts between 20 and 100 seconds, and expels plasma at around 100 km/s. These jets could be the long-sought-after source of the solar wind. View the full article

Confirmed by the World Meteorological Organization, July 2023 was the hottest month on record, with high-impact weather continuing through August. These records are based on air temperatures, but measurements of the temperature of Earth’s surface taken from space are also essential to tracking the impact of climate change, and to being better prepared for such extremes – especially when it comes to cities where stifling urban heat islands form. View the full article

Image: A month after fires ravaged the island of Rhodes in July 2023, more fires have ripped through Greece this week as southern Europe swelters under a late summer heatwave. This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image shows the ongoing blaze near Alexandroupoli in the Evros region of northeast Greece – close to the Türkiye border. View the full article

Hera is complete. ESA’s asteroid mission for planetary defence was built and prepared in two halves, but now, through a painstaking operation, they have been mated together to make a single spacecraft, ready for full-scale testing of its readiness for space. View the full article

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Image: Proba-3: seeing in the dark View the full article

ESA’s Mars Express has turned its trusty High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) towards Mars’s most imposing volcano, revealing its dramatic surroundings and turbulent past. View the full article

Video: 00:02:47 Crew-7 has arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, in the run-up to the International Space Station launch. Crew-7 consists of ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen, taking the role of Dragon spacecraft pilot, NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli is commander, Satoshi Furukawa from JAXA and Konstantin Borisov from Roscomos are mission specialists. This video shows scenes of Crew-7 arriving at the Kennedy Space Center, during launch rehearsal, and Andreas Mogensen training for his mission in space. Andreas and Crew-7 will launch in the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft Endurance from launch pad 39A. This is the launch pad for all crewed flights of SpaceX to the International Space Station, and was previously used for the Shuttle and Apollo missions. As pilot of Crew-7, Andreas he will take one of the two middle seats next to commander Jasmin Moghbeli and monitor the Dragon’s systems and performance during the journey to the International Space Station. When the Crew Dragon spacecraft Endurance docks with the International Space Station, Andreas’s Huginn mission starts. Meaning ‘thought’ and originating from the raven of the Norse god Odin, the name brings together the story of the raven Huginn flying into the world to gather information, just as Andreas will go to International Space Station and collect information for science. The Huginn mission is Andreas’s second spaceflight to the International Space Station after his 10-day ‘iriss’ mission in 2015. Watch the launch live on ESA web TV: https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/ESA_Web_TV You can follow Andreas and his Huginn mission on the Huginn mission page, on Andreas’s social media channels and ESA’s social media. Andreas’s channels: Andreas’s X (formerly Twitter) / Andreas’s Instagram/ Andreas’s Facebook / Andreas’s Flickr ESA channels: ESA Facebook / ESA X (formerly Twitter) / ESA Instagram Access the related broadcast quality footage. View the full article

The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has observed the well-known Ring Nebula with unprecedented detail. Formed by a star throwing off its outer layers as it runs out of fuel, the Ring Nebula is an archetypal planetary nebula. The object is also known as M57 and NGC 6720, and is relatively close to Earth at roughly 2,500 light-years away. View the full article

Image: ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen with his Crew-7 colleagues on arrival at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, 20 August. View the full article

The X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) is ready to launch on 26 August 2023 to observe the most energetic objects and events in the cosmos. In doing so, it will unveil the evolution of the Universe and the structure of spacetime. XRISM is a collaboration between the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and NASA, with significant participation from ESA. The launch will be streamed live in Japanese and English on JAXA’s YouTube channel. View the full article

Week in images: 14-18 August 2023 Discover our week through the lens View the full article

Huginn - piloting the Dragon Huginn View the full article

Video: 00:04:46 During Artemis I the European Service Module (ESM) surpassed expectations. Now, as we set our sights on Artemis II, the European Service Module is ready to once again serve as Orion’s primary power and propulsion component and keep the spacecraft at the right temperature and on course. And this time, with real astronauts on board. ESM-2 stands as a testament to ESA's contributions to NASA's Orion spacecraft and the Artemis programme, ensuring the crew will have the essentials – from electricity to temperature control – in the vastness of space. Next up, ESM-2 will be connected with the crew module to create the Artemis II vehicle. It will then be tAhoroughly tested before launch scheduled for next year. ESA is committed to send astronauts beyond low-Earth orbit and ultimately to the surface of the Moon and beyond. ESM is a key contribution to this joint international endeavour. This video features interviews with: Philippe Berthe, ESA’s European Service Module Project Coordination manager Kai Bergemann, Airbus deputy programme manager for Orion and the European Service Module Jeremy Hansen, Canadian Space Agency Artemis II astronaut Debbie Korth, NASA deputy programme manager for Orion View the full article

Explore ESA's activities in this unique album Space Ambition View the full article

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Image: Edge of earthquake zone View the full article

Following on from the launch of the first Meteosat Third Generation weather satellite, MTG-I1, last December, the focus is now on getting its partner satellite, MTG-S1, ready for liftoff next year – and a significant milestone has been reached. The satellite has been equipped with its main instrument, the Infrared Sounder, hence the satellite’s name, and also the Copernicus Sentinel-4 instrument, an ultraviolet, visible, near-infrared light spectrometer, or UVN for short. View the full article

Week in images: 07-11 August 2023 Discover our week through the lens View the full article

A new stamp for the Huginn mission has been released, taking inspiration from the mission’s Nordic name, Huginn, it presents a colourful design with a deep history. View the full article

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Image: The Artemis II astronauts, set to launch on a trip around the Moon next year, stand in front of the Orion spacecraft’s European Service Module-2 (ESM-2) that will provide everything they need to thrive on their voyage to Earth’s natural satellite. From left, the skilled crew is composed of NASA’s Victor Glover, Canadian Space Agency’s Jeremy Hansen, and NASA’s Christina Koch and Reid Wiseman. Their collective experience underscores the collaborative essence of space exploration, as they prepare for the challenges of deep space travel and return. The European Service Module-2 will provide crucial life support and necessary resources – water, air, electricity, communications and power – for their lunar voyage, ensuring their well-being and mission success. The made-in-Europe powerhouse encapsulates years of ingenuity and safeguards the crew from the harsh space environment. Later this year, it will be connected through the Crew Module Adapter (CMA) – the doughnut shaped structure which can be seen on top of ESM-2 in the picture – to the crew capsule at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, to form the complete Orion spacecraft for the journey forward to the Moon. Following the tradition of previous missions, the Artemis II crew exemplifies international partnership. United by purpose, they stand as a testament to humankind's pursuit of knowledge and adventure beyond our planet. With the European Service Module as their stalwart companion, the Artemis II astronauts are poised to etch their mark in the history of space exploration. View the full article