European Space Agency

For the first time, a phenomenon astronomers have long hoped to image directly has been captured by the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope’s Near-InfraRed Camera (NIRCam). In this stunning image of the Serpens Nebula, the discovery lies in the northern area of this young, nearby star-forming region. View the full article

ESA’s XMM-Newton and NASA’s Chandra spacecraft have detected three young neutron stars that are unusually cold for their age. By comparing their properties to different neutron star models, scientists conclude that the oddballs’ low temperatures disqualify around 75% of known models. This is a big step towards uncovering the one neutron star ‘equation of state’ that rules them all, with important implications for the fundamental laws of the Universe. View the full article

Photographing faint objects close to bright stars is incredibly difficult. Yet, by combining data from ESA's Gaia space telescope with ESO’s GRAVITY instrument on the ground, scientists managed just that. They took the first pictures of so far unseen dim companions of eight luminous stars. The technique unlocks the tantalising possibility to capture images of planets orbiting close to their host stars. View the full article

Drones are being raced against the clock at Delft University of Technology’s ‘Cyber Zoo’ to test the performance of neural-network-based AI control systems planned for next-generation space missions. View the full article

Video: 00:36:48 ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher and ESA Council Chair Renato Krpoun brief journalists on decisions taken at the ESA Council meeting held in Paris on 18 and 19 June 2024. View the full article

Slovenia signed the Accession Agreement to the ESA Convention on 18 June 2024. Upon ratification, Slovenia will become the 23rd ESA Member State. View the full article

Image: Metallic Mars View the full article

The hyperactive sunspot region responsible for the beautiful auroras earlier in May was still alive and kicking when it rotated away from Earth’s view. Watching from the other side of the Sun, the ESA-led Solar Orbiter mission detected this same region producing the largest solar flare of this solar cycle. By observing the Sun from all sides, ESA missions reveal how active sunspot regions evolve and persist, which will help improve space weather forecasting. View the full article

Europe’s newest rocket soon launches, taking with it many space missions each with a unique objective, destination and team at home, cheering them on. Whether into Earth orbit to look back and study Earth, peer out to deep space or test important new technologies, Ariane 6’s first flight will showcase the versatility and flexibility of this impressive, heavy-lift launcher. Read on for all about Curium One, then see who else is flying first. View the full article

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ESA Impact 2024 – June Council Edition ESA Impact Council Edition: Spotlight on recent milestones View the full article

Image: Moving the Ariane 6 upper part to the launch pad for first flight View the full article

With ESA’s Arctic Weather Satellite due to launch in a few weeks, the satellite is now at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California being readied for its big day. Once in orbit, this new mission will show how short-term weather forecasts in the Arctic and beyond could be improved. View the full article

Europe’s newest rocket soon launches, taking with it many space missions, each with a unique objective, destination and team at home, cheering them on. Whether launching new satellites to look back and study Earth, peer out to deep space or test important new technologies in orbit, Ariane 6’s first flight will showcase the versatility and flexibility of this impressive, heavy-lift launcher. Read on for all about GRBBeta, then see who else is flying first. View the full article

Week in images: 10-14 June 2024 Discover our week through the lens View the full article

Image: The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over a section of Italy’s heel in the southern part of the boot-shaped peninsula. View the full article

Ariane 6 Ariane 6 View the full article

ESA’s Hera asteroid mission and its two CubeSats interacted as if they were in space, within the foam pyramid-lined walls of the Agency’s Maxwell test chamber in the Netherlands. The trio communicated together, sharing data and ranging information at the same time as their Hera mothership received commands from its mission controllers at the European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany. View the full article

ESA is getting ready to show thousands of visitors how space improves life on Earth at its very first open day to be held in the UK. View the full article

Europe’s newest rocket soon launches, taking with it many space missions each with a unique objective, destination and team at home, cheering them on. Whether launching new satellites to look back and study Earth, peer out to deep space or test important new technologies in orbit, Ariane 6’s first flight will showcase the versatility and flexibility of this impressive, heavy-lift launcher. Read on for all about the RAMI deployer, then see who else is flying first. View the full article

Image: Drone test of planetary landing radar View the full article

Video: 00:02:54 Proba-3 is ESA’s – and the world’s – first precision formation flying mission. A pair of satellites will fly together relative to the Sun so that one casts a precisely-controlled shadow onto the other, to create a prolonged solar eclipse in orbit. In the process the mission will open up the Sun’s faint surrounding coronal atmosphere for sustained study. Normally this corona is rendered invisible by the brilliant face of the Sun, like a firefly next to a bonfire. Due for launch together this autumn, the two Proba-3 satellites will fly 144-m apart for up to six hours at a time to create these eclipses. Beside its scientific interest, this experiment will be a perfect method to demonstrate the precise positioning of the two platforms. It will be enabled using a novel combination of guidance technologies. In this video the Proba-3 team details the mission concept. Find out more here. Access the related broadcast quality video material. View the full article

A new collaboration between ESA and Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands has got passengers thinking about space. Digital screens throughout the airport featuring stunning satellite images of Earth have been stopping travellers in their tracks. That's because these pictures from space are part of a fun Where on Earth? travel quiz. View the full article

Production of Galileo Second Generation satellites advances at full speed after two independent Satellite Critical Design Review boards have confirmed that the satellite designs of the respective industries meet all mission and performance requirements. This achievement is another crucial milestone hit on time in the ambitious schedule to develop the first 12 satellites of the Galileo Second Generation fleet. View the full article

Image: First Plato camera View the full article