European Space Agency

Image: Drive to destruction View the full article

The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer has moved into the ‘Large Space Simulator’ at ESA’s test centre, ready for grueling environmental tests at a range of temperatures. View the full article

A new study using satellite evidence confirms that a rock and ice avalanche caused the Chamoli disaster in India earlier this year. The resulting mud and debris flood led to massive destruction downstream. View the full article

Register now to join us on 28 June, 18:00-20:00 CEST - seats limited. View the full article

As today’s world becomes increasingly connected, ESA is partnering with the European Commission to keep communications secure. View the full article

Week in images: 07 - 11 June 2021 Discover our week through the lens View the full article

ESA’s large-class science missions for the timeframe 2035-2050 will focus on moons of the giant Solar System planets, temperate exoplanets or the galactic ecosystem, and new physical probes of the early Universe. View the full article

Chongqing, the largest municipality in China, is featured in this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image. View the full article

As part of ESA’s commitment to develop and build satellite missions that push the boundaries of satellite technology and Earth science, four new mission ideas – Cairt, Nitrosat, Seastar and Wivern – have been selected to enter pre-feasibility study and compete to be the eleventh Earth Explorer mission. View the full article

Forest degradation has become the largest process driving carbon loss in the Brazilian Amazon, according to a recent study using ESA satellite data. View the full article

The world’s first wooden satellite is on the way, in the shape of the Finnish WISA Woodsat. ESA materials experts are contributing a suite of experimental sensors to the mission as well as helping with pre-flight testing. View the full article

Research based on ice-thickness data from ESA’s CryoSat and Envisat missions along with a new model of snow has revealed that sea ice in the coastal regions of the Arctic may be thinning twice as fast as thought. View the full article

Image: ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet and NASA astronaut Megan MacArthur run sessions on the Pilote experiment proposed by France’s space agency CNES in the European Columbus module of the International Space Station. Continuing French neuroscience experiments started on the Russian space station Mir, the Pilote experiment evaluates a new way of providing tactile and visual feedback to astronauts when operating robots. Using a virtual reality headset and a haptic joystick can recreate the feeling of pressure and touch when tele-operating a robotic arm. The results from Pilote will improve the work space on the International Space Station and future spacecraft for lunar and martian missions, where astronauts in orbit could operate rovers on the surface. Watch a time lapse of the session here. Over 200 experiments are planned for Thomas and crew, with 40 European ones and 12 new experiments led by CNES. Read an overall of Thomas’ first month in space for mission Alpha, which included work on Pilote and other science experiments, organising Dragon cargo spacecraft deliveries, Space Station maintenance, not to mention daily exercise. View the full article

Video: 00:21:00 ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet talked to French national football team player Kylian Mbappé from the International Space Station during the Alpha mission in 2021. They talked about science, life in space, teamwork, international collaboration, performing under pressure, stress, risk, life behind the scenes and the parallels between professional sport and being an astronaut. Thomas has said often said that sport taught him the values of team spirit and respecting team mates, and no astronaut is an island – if one profession is an example of teamwork it is being an astronaut. It takes a team to ensure they are at their best. View the full article

We provide the spacecraft, the tools and some funding. Your job? Come up with innovative experiments you want to run on it. View the full article

With ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet in space for his first full month, let’s look at what he has been doing on the International Space Station in May. View the full article

Week in images: 31 May - 04 June 2021 Discover our week through the lens View the full article

A detailed concept for a lunar habitat, created by one of the world’s leading architectural firms with ESA technical support, is currently on show at the Biennale in Venice. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, originator of many of the world’s tallest skyscrapers, worked with ESA on a semi-inflatable habitat design which could be part of a long-term vision for an international Moon settlement. View the full article

The replica ExoMars rover that will be used in the Rover Operations Control Centre to support mission training and operations is fully assembled and has completed its first drive around the Mars Terrain Simulator at ALTEC, in Turin, Italy. View the full article

The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over Warsaw – the capital and largest city of Poland. View the full article

Europe’s Galileo satellite navigation constellation is set to grow. Later this year the first two out of 12 ‘Batch 3’ Galileo satellites will be launched by Soyuz from French Guiana. Their last step on the way to launch is situated beside sand dunes on the Dutch coast: the ESTEC Test Centre, which is Europe’s largest satellite test facility. View the full article

Image: It’s a wrap View the full article

Image: Quiet please, future International Space Station commander in training. ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti prepares for her upcoming mission to the International Space Station at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Texas, USA. Samantha is a member of Crew-4 and will launch with NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren and Bob Hines to the Station from Florida, USA, on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft in 2022. This will be Samantha’s second mission in space after Futura in 2015 and she is expected to serve as Space Station commander for Expedition 68a, a first for her. Her experience will stand her in good stead as Europe’s first female in command of an International Space Station expedition. Samantha said “I am humbled by my appointment to the position of commander and look forward to drawing on the experience I’ve gained in space and on Earth to lead a very capable team in orbit.” She will be ESA’s fifth International Space Station commander and the fourth from ESA’s astronaut class of 2009. Her nomination comes at a significant moment for European nationals of all genders, as ESA issues a rare call for new astronauts. The deadline for applications to ESA’s astronaut selection has just been extended to 18 June 2021, to accommodate the addition of Lithuania as an ESA Associate Member. For more information about ESA’s astronaut selection visit esa.int/yourwaytospace. In the meantime, Samantha will continue training with all International Space Station partners in a programme that includes Space Station refreshers, science briefings, and Crew-4 launch preparation. View the full article

Eligible companies from Lithuania can now submit applications to ESA’s Global Space Markets Challenge. The competition’s application deadline for all participants has been extended to 30 June 2021 (23:59 CEST). View the full article

Looking for a space-themed creative project to do at home AND be in for a chance to win some ESA goodies? You’re in the right place! View the full article