European Space Agency

Video: 00:01:20 Approximately 41 000 years ago, Earth’s magnetic field briefly reversed during what is known as the Laschamp event. During this time, Earth’s magnetic field weakened significantly—dropping to a minimum of 5% of its current strength—which allowed more cosmic rays to reach Earth’s atmosphere. Scientists at the Technical University of Denmark and the German Research Centre for Geosciences used data from ESA’s Swarm mission, along with other sources, to create a sounded visualisation of the Laschamp event. They mapped the movement of Earth’s magnetic field lines during the event and created a stereo sound version which is what you can hear in the video. The soundscape was made using recordings of natural noises like wood creaking and rocks falling, blending them into familiar and strange, almost alien-like, sounds. The process of transforming the sounds with data is similar to composing music from a score. Data from ESA’s Swarm constellation are being used to better understand how Earth’s magnetic field is generated. The satellites measure magnetic signals not only from the core, but also from the mantle, crust, oceans and up to the ionosphere and magnetosphere. These data are crucial for studying phenomena such as geomagnetic reversals and Earth’s internal dynamics. The sound of Earth’s magnetic field, the first version of the magnetic field sonification produced with Swarm data, was originally played through a 32-speaker system set up in a public square in Copenhagen, with each speaker representing changes in the magnetic field at different places around the world over the past 100 000 years. View the full article

With all instruments integrated, the first MetOp Second Generation-A, MetOp-SG-A1, weather satellite is now fully assembled and on schedule for liftoff next year. Meanwhile, its sibling, MetOp-SG-B1, is undergoing rigorous testing to ensure that it will withstand the vacuum and extreme temperature swings of space. View the full article

ESA’s Mars Express has captured an astonishing array of landforms emerging from a thick winter blanket of frost as spring arrives in the south polar region of Mars. Some of these features are surprisingly dark compared with their icy surroundings, earning their nickname of ‘cryptic terrain’. View the full article

The Sentinel-1C satellite, the third satellite of the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission, has arrived at the European spaceport in French Guiana for liftoff on the Vega-C rocket at the end of 2024. The satellite will continue the critical task of delivering key radar imagery of Earth’s surface for a wide range of Copernicus services and scientific applications. View the full article

In 2023, ESA published more than 400 vacancies in engineering, science and business and administration and more positions continue to be published as we are always on the lookout for talented new colleagues to join us. So, what does it mean to join ESA? Here are five reasons why you should consider ESA as the next step in your career! View the full article

A camera destined for the Moon became part of the astronauts’ toolkit during ESA’s latest PANGAEA geology training in Lanzarote, Spain. View the full article

Video: 00:04:05 ESA’s Hera mission lifted off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, USA, on 7 October at 10:52 local time (16:52 CEST, 14:52 UTC). Hera is ESA’s first planetary defence mission. It will fly to a unique target among the 1.3 million asteroids in our Solar System – the only body to have had its orbit shifted by human action – to solve lingering unknowns associated with its deflection. Hera will carry out the first detailed survey of a ‘binary’ – or double-body – asteroid, 65803 Didymos, which is orbited by a smaller body, Dimorphos. Hera’s main focus will be Dimorphos, whose orbit around the main body was previously altered by NASA’s kinetic-impacting DART spacecraft. By sharpening scientific understanding of this ‘kinetic impact’ technique of asteroid deflection, Hera should turn the experiment into a well-understood and repeatable technique for protecting Earth from an asteroid on a collision course. View the full article

Video: 00:03:03 ESA’s Hera mission lifted off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, USA, on 7 October at 10:52 local time (16:52 CEST, 14:52 UTC). Hera is ESA’s first planetary defence mission. It will fly to a unique target among the 1.3 million asteroids in our Solar System – the only body to have had its orbit shifted by human action – to solve lingering unknowns associated with its deflection. Hera will carry out the first detailed survey of a ‘binary’ – or double-body – asteroid, 65803 Didymos, which is orbited by a smaller body, Dimorphos. Hera’s main focus will be Dimorphos, whose orbit around the main body was previously altered by NASA’s kinetic-impacting DART spacecraft. By sharpening scientific understanding of this ‘kinetic impact’ technique of asteroid deflection, Hera should turn the experiment into a well-understood and repeatable technique for protecting Earth from an asteroid on a collision course. View the full article

Video: 00:11:35 Hera, ESA’s first planetary defence mission, is headed to space. Hera will fly to a unique target among the 1.3 million known asteroids of our Solar System – the first body to have had its orbit shifted by human action – to probe lingering unknowns related to its deflection. Hera is scheduled for launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, USA, today, Monday 7 October, at 16:52 CEST / 15:52 BST. View the full article

Image: Mission control GO for Hera launch View the full article

Week in images: 30 September - 04 October 2024 Discover our week through the lens View the full article

View the full article

In a final test before its shipping to its Indian launch site, ESA’s eclipse-making double-satellite Proba-3 mission has received commands from its science team and transmitted images back, exactly as it will operate in orbit. View the full article

Image: This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image captures the intricate blend of natural, rural and urban landscapes around Kunshan, a city in eastern China. View the full article

View the full article

Thanks to an ESA-funded project and data from the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission, researchers have revealed seasonal variations in intertidal seagrass across Western Europe and North Africa. As a key indicator of biodiversity, these new findings offer valuable insights for the conservation and restoration of these vital ecosystems. View the full article

As BepiColombo sped past Mercury during its June 2023 flyby, it encountered a variety of features in the tiny planet’s magnetic field. These measurements provide a tantalising taste of the mysteries that the mission is set to investigate when it arrives in orbit around the Solar System’s innermost planet. View the full article

To achieve truly global connectivity, telecommunications satellites are essential. Through the Sunrise Partnership Project with Eutelsat OneWeb – part of Eutelsat Group – and support from the UK Space Agency, ESA is extending advanced 5G connectivity to areas beyond the reach of traditional ground networks. View the full article

This September saw the completion of a critical milestone for the construction of ESA's new deep space communication antenna in New Norcia, Australia: the lifting of the 122-tonne reflector dish. View the full article

View the full article

New research reveals that dust carried by the wind from southern Africa towards Madagascar triggered the largest phytoplankton bloom in two decades – and, unusually, this occurred at a time of year when such blooms are rarely seen. View the full article

Hera asteroid mission ESA's first planetary defence mission, headed to a binary asteroid View the full article

ESA has released its new Earth Observation Science Strategy, Earth Science in Action for Tomorrow’s World. Responding to the escalating threats from climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution and extreme weather and the need to take action to address these threats, this forward-looking strategy outlines a bold vision for Earth science through to 2040. View the full article

Image: Nearing Hera era in space View the full article

The latest edition of ESA Impact is here Your interactive gateway to the most captivating stories and stunning visuals from ESA View the full article