European Space Agency

ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet and NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough performed three spacewalks in the span of 10 days to install two new solar arrays that will generate more electricity on the International Space Station. View the full article

Image: Retro meets retrofit: The Novespace Air Zero G aircraft is seen here next to Douglas the 1962 VW Transporter. The two are in Paderborn, Germany for the 76th ESA Parabolic Flight Campaign. The refitted A310 Air Zero G aircraft flies in parabolas that offer teams from various research institutes and universities altered states of gravity to perform experiments and technology demonstrations. Experiments span many disciplines including complex fluidics and human physiology, and this campaign is no exception. Running from 25 June to 1 July, the 76th campaign features an experiment studying the effect of gravity on hydrodynamics to better protect spacecraft and science instruments from the temperature fluctuations in space; a study on how immune cells flow under the stress of spaceflight; an experiment studying spinal stiffness under microgravity to mitigate lumbar pain for both astronauts and patients on Earth, to name a few. A typical parabolic flight campaign involves three flights and requires a week of on-site preparation. Each flight offers 31 periods of weightlessness. The aircraft can also fly in arcs that provide lunar or martian gravity levels by adjusting the angle of attack of the wings. Each flight of this particular campaign will split the gravity states, flying one third of parabolas at martian-G, one third at lunar-G, and one third at zero-G. The aircraft flies close to maximum speed and pulls the nose up to a 45° angle, then cuts the power to fall over the top of the curve. Whilst falling freely the passengers and experiments experience around 20 seconds of microgravity, until the plane is angled 45° nose-down, before pulling out of the dive to level off with normal flight. These “pull up” and “pull out” manoeuvres before and after the weightless period increase gravity inside the plane up to 2g, but that is just part of the ride, repeated every three minutes for almost two hours. The campaign is the fourth to take place under Covid-19 restrictions. Despite measures loosening across Europe, participants and coordinators adapted to safety measures: PCR tests were required to enter Germany, as well as rapid antigen or RT LAMP tests each day for every participant. Facilities on the ground as well as on board are adapted to allow for social distancing and cleanliness requirements. Surgical masks are worn at all times, and movement is restricted during the flights. University students can also take part in a parabolic flight campaign thanks to the ESA Education Office’s Fly Your Thesis! programme. Masters and PhD students can propose their experiment, and upon selection, will be supported in preparing their experiment for the campaign by ESA Academy, ESA and Novespace experts. The 2022 Call for Proposals is now open. View the full article

What do astronauts, rockstars, scientists and communicators have in common? You’ll find some of the best at this year’s 5-hour live Asteroid Day broadcast, bringing to life the smallest known worlds in the Solar System – with the potential to make a huge impact here on Earth. View the full article

While exploring two exoplanets in a bright nearby star system, ESA’s exoplanet-hunting Cheops satellite has unexpectedly spotted the system’s third known planet crossing the face of the star. This transit reveals exciting details about a rare planet “with no known equivalent”, say the researchers. View the full article

Using data originally gathered for spacecraft ‘housekeeping’ aboard ESA’s Rosetta and Mars Express missions, scientists have revealed how intense bursts of high-energy radiation, known as cosmic rays, behave at Mars and throughout the inner Solar System. View the full article

Week in images: 21 - 25 June 2021 Discover our week through the lens View the full article

The Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission takes us over Lake Mar Chiquita – an endorheic salt lake in the northeast province of Córdoba, Argentina. View the full article

Image: A snap of ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet during the second spacewalk to upgrade the International Space Station’s power system, taken by NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough. The duo performed the second extra vehicular activity to bolt in place and unfurl an IROSA, or ISS Roll-Out Solar Array, on Sunday 20 June. The series of spacewalks last week was not without some challenges. During the first spacewalk on 16 June, Shane experienced a small technical problem in his spacesuit that required him to return to the airlock and restart his Display and Control Module. This module provides astronauts with continuous information on pressure, temperature and other vital data during a spacewalk. Though the restart was successful and Shane was in no danger, it delayed the duo’s work, preventing them from completing installation of the first new solar array as planned. The duo succeeded in taking the IROSA panel out of its storage area outside the Space Station and passed from spacewalker to spacewalker to the worksite. There the rolled arrays were secured. The spacewalk lasted 7 hours and 15 minutes. During the second spacewalk, the duo unfolded, bolted and connected the wires. Then they hung out while the panels were unfurled, a sequence that lasted about 10 minutes. Shane and Thomas then got ahead of the next spacewalk by preparing the next IROSA for installation before cleaning up the worksite and heading back to the airlock. This spacewalk lasted 6 hours and 28 minutes, with only a minor technical snag. Shane’s helmet lights and camera partially detached from his helmet but Thomas used some wire to reattach them as a temporary fix. Mission planners are working on a third spacewalk on Friday June 25 to install the second pair of new solar arrays. This will go on the P6 truss’ 4B power channel, opposite the first new solar array. Follow the action on esawebtv.esa.int from 12:30 CEST (11:30 BST). Thomas now has spent 26 hours and 15 minutes on spacewalks over his two missions on the International Space Station, Proxima and Alpha. “It was probably the most impressive experience I’ve ever had but it was not easy,” says Thomas. View the full article

Valuable data is flowing rapidly from Earth observing satellites back to the planet, thanks to the most sophisticated laser communication network ever built. View the full article

Video: 00:51:52 Want to learn more about applications to ESA’s astronaut selection? Watch the replay of this media briefing to get an insight into the total number and spread of applications across all ESA Member and Associate Member states. Vacancies for the positions of astronaut and astronaut (with a physical disability) have closed on 18 June 2021, after a two-and-a-half-month-long application period. View the full article

Aspiring astronauts from across Europe are awaiting the next step in ESA’s astronaut selection, following the 18 June closure of the Agency’s first application period in 11 years. View the full article

ESA’s Space Safety Digital Festival is the first of its kind, giving you the unique opportunity to chat, mingle with and quiz Europe’s top experts working behind the scenes to keep us safe. View the full article

Press Release N° 20–2021 After months of constructive negotiations, ESA and EU signed today a new Financial Framework Partnership Agreement (FFPA) in a ceremony to celebrate the launch of the new EU space programme. View the full article

Image: Juice in Large Space Simulator View the full article

Watch live: Signature of the Financial Framework Partnership Agreement Follow the online event marking the FFPA signature between ESA and the EU. Starts at 09:30 CEST. View the full article

Following liftoff last November and more than six months spent carefully calibrating the most advanced mission dedicated to measuring sea-level rise, Copernicus Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich is now operational – meaning that its data are available to climate researchers, ocean-weather forecasts and other data users. View the full article

Image: Stark reality of Californian drought from space View the full article

ESA is inviting up to 25 committed mobile app developers and specialists in artificial and machine learning related to observing Earth from space to join this year’s Space App Camp, which will be a virtual event over eight weeks, from 20 July to 20 September. View the full article

Week in images: 14 - 18 June 2021 Discover our week through the lens View the full article

The UK’s new National Space Propulsion Facility has been declared open. ESA oversaw the design, assembly and commissioning of the facility – equipped to test-fire the most powerful classes of rocket engines used aboard spacecraft – which will now be managed by the UK Government’s Science and Technology Facilities Council. View the full article

The Tana River, Kenya’s longest river, is featured in this false-colour image captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission. View the full article

The deadline to submit an application for ESA’s astronaut selection is midnight CEST Friday 18 June, giving applicants just two more days to apply. View the full article

There’s a problem brewing overhead. Invisible to the naked eye and relatively unheard of, it threatens our future in space – space debris. A new ‘Space Sustainability Rating’ is currently in development that will shed light on the problem, scoring space operators on the sustainability of their missions, increasing the transparency of their contributions to protecting the space environment and encouraging and recognising responsible behaviour. View the full article

Image: André Kuipers with a European Robotic Arm model on the Space Station View the full article

Video: 00:03:38 An instrument destined for Jupiter orbit undergoes eight days of cryogenic radio-frequency testing using a new test facility at ESA’s ESTEC technical centre in the Netherlands. The Submillimetre Wave Instrument of ESA’s Juice mission will survey the churning atmosphere of Jupiter and the scanty atmospheres of its Galilean moons. Testing took place in ESA’s custom-built Low-temperature Near-field Terahertz chamber, or Lorentz. The first chamber of its kind, the 2.8-m diameter Lorentz chamber can perform high-frequency radio-frequency testing in realistic space conditions, combining space-quality vacuum with ultra-low temperatures. View the full article