European Space Agency

Join European Space Agency and Gaia mission representatives on Monday 13 June for a preview of the third major data release. This world-class treasure trove is set to reveal new insights into our Solar System, our Milky Way galaxy, and our wider cosmic neighbourhood. View the full article

This radar image, captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission, shows us the only city-island-nation – Singapore – and one of the busiest ports in the world. View the full article

Image: The face of Galileo View the full article

A team of scientists have used satellite data to detect methane plumes from an offshore platform in the Gulf of Mexico. This is the first time that individual methane plumes from offshore platforms are mapped from space. View the full article

A space-enabled system to help clear congested skies while reducing carbon emissions is going global, following a deal signed today between satellite communications provider Inmarsat and ESA. View the full article

ESA’s Comet Interceptor mission to visit a pristine comet or other interstellar object just starting its journey into the inner Solar System has been ‘adopted’ this week; the study phase is complete and, following selection of the spacecraft prime contractor, work will soon begin to build the mission. View the full article

This scarred and colourful (by martian standards!) landscape shows part of Aonia Terra, an upland region in the southern highlands of Mars. The image was taken by ESA’s Mars Express on 25 April 2022. View the full article

Engineers have connected Japan and Europe via space-enabled next-generation 5G telecommunication links. It is the first time that such an intercontinental connection has been established between Europe and Japan. View the full article

Celebrated each year on 5 June, World Environment Day focuses on awareness of environmental challenges and action to protect planet Earth. Take a look at five ESA-supported projects that use satellite data and services to address specific environmental problems. View the full article

Part of Puglia, or Apulia, a region in southern Italy, is featured in this image captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission. View the full article

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Image: The fourth European Service Module structure to power astronauts on NASA's Orion spacecraft to the Moon is now complete. The structure is seen here at a Thales Alenia Space site in Turin, Italy. The module is now on its way to Airbus’ clean rooms in Bremen, Germany where engineers will complete the integration and carry out final tests. As the powerhouse for the Orion spacecraft, the European Service Module provides propulsion and the consumables astronauts need to stay alive. Much like the load-bearing frame of a car, this structure forms the basis for all further assembly of the spacecraft, including 11 km of wiring, 33 engines, four tanks to hold over 8000 litres of fuel, water and air for astronauts and the seven-metre ‘x-wing’ solar arrays that provide enough electricity to power two households. The fourth European Service Module is part of the Artemis IV mission that will begin delivering elements of the Gateway, the next human outpost located in lunar orbit. This includes the International Habitat, or I-Hab, module, built by Thales Alenia on behalf of ESA. It is a pressurised module that will provide living quarters for astronauts visiting the Gateway and include multiple docking ports for berthing vehicles as well as well other modules. What’s up with the first three European Service Modules? The first European Service Module is connected with the Orion spacecraft and awaiting launch for Artemis I later this year. The second European Service Module has been formally transferred to NASA and is completing integration at the Operations and Checkout building at Kennedy Space Center. Meanwhile, the third European Service Module continues to be built up in Bremen. With four European Service Modules already delivered and in production, ESA is ensuring NASA’s Artemis programme continues to develop a sustainable presence on and around the Moon in international partnership. The countdown to the Moon starts in Europe with 16 companies in ten countries supplying the components that make up humankind’s next generation spacecraft for exploration. Follow the latest on Orion developments on the blog. View the full article

The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope will release its first full-colour images and spectroscopic data on 12 July 2022. View the full article

Video: 00:02:54 Spacecraft are not so different to humans – whilst the Sun can be a great source of vital energy, both people and machines must also be protected from its harmful effects. In this video, engineers at Thales Alenia Space in Turin are attaching a combined sunshield and solar panel module to the main body of ESA’s Euclid spacecraft. This process took place on 23 May 2022 and lasted an entire day. The module has two functions: whilst the solar panels will provide the spacecraft with power, the sunshield will shade the instrument-carrying payload module from the Sun’s intense radiation. The video also includes interviews with the ESA and Thales Alenia Space Euclid project managers, who tell us more about the importance of the sunshield and Euclid’s ambitious goals. Euclid is a space telescope designed to explore the dark Universe. It will make a 3D-map of the cosmos (with time as the third dimension) by observing billions of galaxies out to 10 billion light-years, across more than a third of the sky. In doing so, Euclid will tackle some of the most fundamental questions in cosmology – questions like: How did the Universe originate? Why is the Universe expanding at an accelerating rate? What is the nature of dark matter? What is dark energy? The previous step in Euclid’s journey, taking place on 24 March 2022, involved attaching Euclid’s payload module to its supporting service module. Next up, engineers will add the communications antenna and then Euclid will be complete. Finally, Euclid will be taken to Cannes where the complete spacecraft will be tested to check that it is ready for launch from Europe’s Spaceport in French View the full article

Image: Euclid gains solar power and protection View the full article

Image: Plato’s cave: vacuum test for exoplanet detection View the full article

Media representatives are invited to join a virtual press event at 13 June 2022 from 10:00 to 11:00 CEST, to learn more about the new data set to be released by ESA’s Gaia mission. View the full article

Video: 00:07:10 Interview with ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer after the conclusion of his 177-day mission on the International Space Station. During his time in orbit, Matthias supported over 35 European experiments and even more international experiments on board. The outcomes of these experiments will advance our knowledge in areas ranging from human health to materials science, benefiting life on Earth and the future of space exploration. Other highlights included his spacewalk to improve and maintain the Space Station. More about the Cosmic Kiss mission: https://www.esa.int/cosmickiss View the full article

Image: Vacuum soak for satellite brain View the full article

Week in images: 23-27 May 2022 Discover our week through the lens View the full article

With more than 5000 participants, 240 science sessions and over 1300 oral presentations, ESA’s Living Planet Symposium comes to a close with record-breaking numbers. Held on 23-27 May at the World Conference Center in the German city of Bonn, the symposium brought together world-class scientists, business leaders, representatives from space agencies and international organisations and industry from around the world. Throughout the week, they showcased the latest advances in Earth observation and highlighted the essential role of Earth observation for decision making regarding the ongoing climate crisis. As the week draws to a close, we look back at some of the highlights of the week. View the full article

The world’s first mission to remove several small telecommunications satellites from orbit once they reach the end of their operational service is about to start building and testing its prototype spacecraft. View the full article

Set off on your next adventure with the Paxi collection Paxi: the perfect friend for young explorers! View the full article

Video: 00:03:33 Earth’s oceans are huge heat stores, soaking up 93% of the excess heat from human activity over the past 70 years. Ocean currents redistribute heat around the planet, from the Equator to the poles. Where this ocean heat goes influences weather patterns and regional climate. As well as absorbing heat, oceans are a natural carbon sink, absorbing a quarter of carbon dioxide emissions from human activity. This has led to the acidification of ocean water, threating marine life. The amount of heat and carbon dioxide absorbed depends on a number of ocean variables, all of which can be measured from space. View the full article

With scientific excellence at the very heart of ESA’s FutureEO programme, participants at this week’s Living Planet Symposium have been making it clear that new research missions to advance Earth science must continue to be realised in the future. View the full article