European Space Agency

ESA is poised to showcase how satellite data underpins global efforts to avert climate catastrophe at pivotal international talks held in the UK. View the full article

Nine fast-flowing glaciers in West Antarctica have been named after locations of important climate treaties, conferences and reports. One of the glaciers is now called Glasgow Glacier to mark the city hosting the COP26 climate change conference. All the glaciers are in the Getz region, which, using data from satellites, was found recently to have lost more than 300 gigatonnes of ice over the last 25 years. View the full article

Video: 01:01:43 Watch the replay of Matthias Maurer’s last Q&A session before liftoff! The ESA astronaut joined from his pre-launch quarantine in the USA to discuss launch preparations and highlights of his mission, called Cosmic Kiss. Matthias will be the 600th human to fly to space. His first launch attempt is on Sunday 31 October at 07:21 CET (06:21 GMT, 02:21 EDT) alongside NASA astronauts Kayla Barron, Tom Marshburn and Raja Chari on the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft “Endurance”. View the full article

Géraldine Naja took up duty as Director of Commercialisation, Industry and Procurement (D/CIP), based at ESA Headquarters in Paris, on 1 November 2021. View the full article

Week in images: 25 - 29 October 2021 Discover our week through the lens View the full article

Glasgow, host of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP26), is featured in this image captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission. View the full article

Today, ESA and NASA have publicly released the first globally-harmonised assessment of above ground biomass – information that is vital for managing global climate change. The Multi-Mission Algorithm and Analysis Platform (MAAP) provides seamless access to above ground biomass information from both NASA and ESA Earth observation data. The revolutionary open-science tool is now fully operational and accessible online. View the full article

Video: 00:03:00 ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet from France began Alpha - his second mission to the International Space Station - on 23 April 2021. Launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida, USA, on the second operational flight of SpaceX Crew Dragon, he has now spent around six months in orbit on mission Alpha. In addition to science experiments, he has taken part in four spacewalks and countless scientific investigations. On 4 October Thomas became the fourth European International Space Station Commander. He is now the ESA astronaut with the most total time spent in space and on spacewalks. View the full article

Image: Lunar Lander in Dubai View the full article

Image: ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer and his NASA crew mates Raja Chari, Thomas Marshburn and Kayla Barron are all smiles as they arrive at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA on 26 October 2021. Collectively, the astronauts make up Crew-3 and will travel to the International Space Station on the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft “Endurance”. The first launch opportunity for Crew-3 is 07:21 CET (06:21 GMT, 02:21 EDT) Sunday 31 October 2021, with a backup date of 3 November. The Dragon will dock with the Space Station 22 hours after launch, allowing for a short overlap with the Crew-2 members who are due to depart the Station in the coming week. With both Matthias and ESA astronaut and current Space Station Commander Thomas Pesquet on board, Europe will have two astronauts resident in space – a rare occurrence. The name of Matthias’s mission is “Cosmic Kiss”. This is Matthias’s first mission, and he will be the 600th human to fly to space. Once in orbit, Matthias will spend around six months living and working in microgravity as he supports more than 35 European experiments and numerous international experiments on board. Matthias is also certified to perform Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) in both the Russian Orlan and American EMU spacesuits. He is expected to perform a Russian spacewalk during his mission as part of initial operations for the European Robotic Arm (ERA) that was launched to the Station in July 2021. Visit the Cosmic Kiss mission page for more information about Matthias’s mission. View the full article

Whether you are hosting a YouTube channel about space or volunteering to speak at your local school, we want to recognise and reward your passion and advocacy for space. View the full article

Air passengers will soon be able to cut their carbon footprint when travelling on flights that are routed using satellites. View the full article

Using ESA’s XMM-Newton and NASA’s Chandra X-ray space telescopes, astronomers have made an important step in the quest to find a planet outside of the Milky Way. View the full article

The 72nd International Astronautical Congress opens its doors on Monday 25 October at the Dubai World Trade Centre in the United Arab Emirates, for a week of intense interactions for the world space community. After one year online due to COVID-19 restrictions, the congress returns to an in-person event with the theme 'Inspire, innovate and discover for the benefit of humankind'. View the full article

Video: 00:04:00 German ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer will soon begin his first mission to the International Space Station. As a member of Crew-3, he will be launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft alongside NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn and Kayla Barron. Matthias selected the mission name “Cosmic Kiss” for his time in orbit as a declaration of love for space. He will spend around six months living and working in microgravity, where he will carry out many European and international experiments to advance space exploration and benefit lives on Earth. For more on Matthias and the Cosmic Kiss mission visit the ESA mission website View the full article

Europe’s Ariane 5 has delivered two telecom satellites, SES-17 and Syracuse-4A, into their planned orbits. View the full article

Video: 00:04:28 Time lapse of the stacking of the Orion spacecraft on top of the fully assembled Space Launch System (SLS) rocket at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on 21 October 2021, in preparation for the uncrewed Artemis I launch. For Artemis I, the European Service Module will take the spacecraft more than 64 000 km beyond the Moon in a test flight to demonstrate its capabilities. The European Service Module is ESA’s contribution to NASA’s Orion spacecraft that will send astronauts to the Moon and beyond. It provides electricity, water, oxygen and nitrogen as well as keeping the spacecraft at the right temperature and on course. Learn more about Orion Access the broadcast quality version of the video View the full article

Week in images: 18 - 22 October 2021 Discover our week through the lens View the full article

On this day, twenty years ago, ESA’s first small satellite, Proba-1 (Project for On Board Autonomy), was launched with just one goal – to prove technologies in space. View the full article

When considering the implications of thawing permafrost, our initial worries are likely to turn to the major issue of methane being released into the atmosphere and exacerbating global warming or issues for local communities as the ground and infrastructure become unstable. While this is bad enough, new research reveals that the potential effects of permafrost thaw could also pose serious health threats. As part of the ESA–NASA Arctic Methane and Permafrost Challenge, new research has revealed that rapidly thawing permafrost in the Arctic has the potential to release antibiotic-resistant bacteria, undiscovered viruses and even radioactive waste from Cold War nuclear reactors and submarines. View the full article

Image: Mini Earth-observer Proba-1's 20 years in orbit View the full article

Perth, Western Australia’s capital and largest city, is featured in this true-colour image captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission. View the full article

Video: 00:40:56 Watch the replay of this media event to hear about the outcome of the 300th ESA Council. Delegations from Member States are meeting in Paris on 20 and 21 October 2021. Panelists, including ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher, provide live updates on the Intermediate Ministerial Meeting that will take place in Portugal in November 2021. The High-Level Advisory Group Report will also be presented and new ESA directors will be announced. View the full article

Earth observation provides a wealth of information to benefit our daily lives. As the demand for satellite data grows to address the challenges of climate change and a growing population, ESA, under the leadership of the European Commission, along with its key European partners, are developing high precision digital models of Earth to monitor and simulate both natural and human activity, to enable more sustainable development and support European environmental policies. Today, at the ESA Council, Member States approved a ‘Contribution Agreement', which paves the way for cooperation with the European Commission on the Destination Earth initiative, in the context of the Digital Agenda of the European Union. View the full article

Final report from the high-level advisory group on accelerating the use of space in Europe A group of advisors were given the mandate to advise the ESA DG on directions and actions for ESA to realise ambitious goals, together with other stakeholders, serving the future of Europe and its citizens. This report summarises their recommendations. View the full article