European Space Agency

Image: ESA astronaut candidate Raphaël Liégeois from Belgium during a robotics session as part of his basic astronaut training at ESA’s European Astronaut Centre, near Cologne, Germany. View the full article

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Video: 00:03:29 After years of development and a rigorous testing programme, ESA’s EarthCARE satellite has left Munich, Germany, and is now on its away to SpaceX’s launch site in Vandenberg, California. Once it arrives, it will be put into storage for a few weeks until it is time to ready the satellite for liftoff – which is scheduled to launch in May on a Falcon 9 rocket. The Earth Cloud Aerosol and Radiation Explorer, or EarthCARE for short, is the most complex Earth Explorer mission to date. The new satellite will look at the role that clouds and aerosols play in heating and cooling Earth’s atmosphere – contributing to our understanding of climate change. With its unique set of four instruments, EarthCARE will examine the role clouds and aerosols play in reflecting solar radiation back into space and also in trapping infrared radiation emitted from Earth’s surface. EarthCARE is a joint venture between ESA and JAXA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. This video features interviews with Simonetta Cheli, Director of Earth Observation Programmes at ESA, Thorsten Fehr, ESA’s EarthCARE Mission Scientist, Dirk Bernaerts, ESA’s EarthCARE Project Manager and Eiichi Tomita, JAXA’s EarthCARE/CPR Project Manager. Access the related broadcast quality video material through the links below https://www.esa.int/esatv/Videos/2023/10/EarthCARE_animations https://www.esa.int/esatv/Videos/2024/01/EarthCARE_interviews https://www.esa.int/esatv/Videos/2022/07/Earthcare_Satellite_B-Rolls View the full article

Video: 00:01:44 The two central stages for Ariane 6’s first flight are being assembled in the launcher assembly building (BAL) at Europe’s Spaceport. The core stage and the upper stage for Europe’s new rocket Ariane 6 are set to fly in the Summer of 2024. Once assembled, the stages will be transferred to the launch pad. On the launch pad, the two stages will be raised into their vertical launch position inside the mobile assembly building. Here the two boosters for Ariane 6’s first flight will be added and then the payloads will be placed on top and be covered by the fairing – Ariane 6’s nose cone that splits vertically in two. The stages arrived at Europe’s Spaceport on novel hybrid sail ship Canopée on 21 February after a two-week transatlantic crossing from mainland Europe. Ariane 6 is an all-new design, created to succeed Ariane 5 as Europe's heavy-lift launch system. With Ariane 6's upper stage restart capability, Europe's launch capability will be tailored to the needs of multiple payload missions, for example to orbit satellite constellations. This autonomous capability to reach Earth orbit and deep space supports Europe's navigation, Earth observation, scientific and security programmes. Ongoing development of Europe's space transportation capabilities is made possible by the sustained dedication of thousands of talented people working in ESA's 22 Member States. Access the related broadcast quality video material. View the full article

Image: Hera asteroid mission vs. absolutely nothing View the full article

Ultrasound devices are commonplace in modern orbital medical kits, helping to facilitate rapid diagnoses of astronaut ailments or bodily changes. However it takes real-time guidance from experts on the ground to acquire medically useful ultrasound images. Once astronauts travel to the Moon or further into the Solar System such guidance will no longer be practical due to the time delay involved. A new ESA-led project aims to leverage AI and Machine Learning so that astronauts can perform close to expert quality ultrasound exams by themselves. View the full article

Looking deep into space and time, two teams using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope have studied the exceptionally luminous galaxy GN-z11, which existed when our 13.8 billion-year-old Universe was only about 430 million years old. View the full article

Video: 00:05:01 ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen explains how two experiments involving virtual reality makes on International Space Station. The first is Virtual Assistance Mental Balance (VAMB) where Andreas gets to enjoy a calm setting in nature that helps him relax. The second one is VR for Exercise, where he cycles on the Space Station’s exercise bike and through different bike routes in Denmark on the VR headset, which has quickly become a favourite for Andreas. Access the related broadcast quality video material. View the full article

Video: 00:23:34 Marco Sieber is one of ESA’s five astronaut candidates currently undergoing basic astronaut training at the European Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne. Join us as we speak to Marco about his first months of training and living in Germany, his background as a medical doctor, his favourite training lessons, and what he is excited about for the future of space exploration. This is the third episode of our ESA Explores podcast series introducing the ESA astronaut class of 2022. It was recorded in November 2023. Music and audio editing by Denzel Lorge. Cover art by Gaël Nadaud. View the full article

Image: Help Me In Distress View the full article

Week in images: 26 February - 1 March 2024 Discover our week through the lens View the full article

Space has led to technological innovations with wide-ranging applications in healthcare. Beyond consumer gadgets, such as wireless headsets and scratch-resistant lenses, space exploration is a catalyst for understanding the human body and advancing scientific results that benefit people worldwide. Here are Europe’s top 5 stories in space for your health. Gravity affects everything we do and everything that happens inside and around us. On Earth’s surface, everything is subject to an average gravitational acceleration of 9.81 m/s2, or what we call 1 g. This acceleration keeps us grounded but it also influences all reactions and phenomena around us, from falling apples to cell growth. Microgravity conditions allow scientists to study phenomena free from the influence of gravity and investigate in depth the fundamental mechanisms at play. The International Space Station provides uninterrupted periods of weightlessness and offers the opportunity for scientists to conduct research, with the help of astronauts on board, that would be impossible to perform on Earth. View the full article

Image: This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image features the ice tongue of the Dawson-Lambton Glacier in Antarctica. View the full article

Video: 00:07:30 Meet the people working on the testing of Ariane 6. Europe’s next rocket, Ariane 6, has passed all its qualification tests in preparation for its first flight, and now the full-scale test model will be removed from the launch pad to make way for the real rocket that will ascend to space. To make way for launch, teams from ArianeGroup, France’s space agency CNES and ESA have started to remove the Ariane 6 test model by disconnecting the cables and fuel lines that pass through the launch tower. Find out about the progress being made at the end of testing by the people who know Ariane 6 best. Featuring interviews with ESA’s launch system architect Pier Domenico Resta, CNES Inspector General Bernard Chemoul, CNES Ariane 6 project manager Olivier Bugnet, ESA Launch system engineer Frank Saingou, ArianeGroup system test program manager Valérie and ArianeGroup production engineering manager Lydia Amakoud. Ariane 6 is an all-new design, created to succeed Ariane 5 as Europe's heavy-lift launch system. With Ariane 6's upper stage restart capability, Europe's launch capability will be tailored to the needs of multiple payload missions, for example to orbit satellite constellations. This autonomous capability to reach Earth orbit and deep space supports Europe's navigation, Earth observation, scientific and security programmes. Ongoing development of Europe's space transportation capabilities is made possible by the sustained dedication of thousands of talented people working in ESA's 22 Member States. View the full article

Image: Proba-3's laser-precise positioning View the full article

Video: 00:09:47 According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), global agricultural production will need to increase by 60% by 2050 to meet the food demands of the growing global population. A new satellite called Copernicus Hyperspectral Imaging Mission for the Environment, or CHIME, is being developed to support EU policies on the management of natural resources – ultimately helping to address the global issue of food security. CHIME will carry a unique visible to shortwave infrared spectrometer to provide routine hyperspectral observations to support new and enhanced services for sustainable agricultural and biodiversity management, as well as soil property characterisation. CHIME is one of six Copernicus Sentinel Expansion missions that ESA is developing on behalf of the EU. The missions will expand the current capabilities of the Copernicus Space Component – the world’s biggest supplier of Earth observation data. This video features interviews with Marco Celesti, CHIME Mission Scientist and Jens Nieke, CHIME Project Manager. View the full article

The ESA Young Graduate Trainee call for applications closes on 7 March 2024. Don’t hesitate to apply and kick-start your career in space today! Positions are available in engineering, science, IT and business services.   View the full article

Using the unprecedented capabilities of the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, an international team of scientists has obtained the first spectroscopic observations of the faintest galaxies during the first billion years of the Universe. These findings help answer a longstanding question for astronomers: what sources caused the reionisation of the Universe? View the full article

ESA’s Mars Express has captured an intriguing view near Mars’s north pole, imaging where vast sand dunes meet the many layers of dusty ice covering the planet’s pole. View the full article

Video: 00:02:10 The largest components for the first flight model of Europe’s new rocket Ariane 6 arrived at the port of Pariacabo in Kourou, French Guiana on 21 February 2024 via the novel ship, Canopée (canopy in French). The Ariane 6 stages and components are all manufactured across Europe. On this trip, Canopée brought the central core for Ariane 6’s first flight. The main engine and the main stage were integrated in Les Mureaux, France, while the upper stage and insulation for the rocket’s exterior were built up in Bremen, Germany. The various Ariane 6 components are then offloaded and transported by road to the new Ariane 6 launch vehicle assembly building just a few kilometres away. Here, the launcher stages are unpacked and installed on the assembly line for integration, and finally, liftoff. The Ariane 6 boosters are already in Europe’s Spaceport after their production in Italy, they are the same P120C solid propulsion boosters as used for Europe’s Vega-C rocket. First the central core will be assembled horizontally after which it is transported to the launchpad. Here it will be lifted into the upright position after which Boosters and the upper stage will be added inside the mobile gantry. This summer Flight Model-1 will be ready to let its engine rumble and fly. For the full b-roll sets for launch campaign -> https://www.esa.int/esatv/Videos/2024/02/Ariane_6_inaugural_launch and tests and development -> https://www.esa.int/esatv/Videos/2022/08/Ariane_6_development_-_clips View the full article

ESA’s Hera spacecraft for planetary defence is being prepared for a journey to the distant asteroid moon Dimorphos orbiting around its parent body Didymos. One of the first features Hera will look for is the crater left on Dimorphos by its predecessor mission DART, which impacted the asteroid to deflect its orbit. Yet a new impact simulation study reported in Nature Astronomy today suggests no crater will be found. The DART impact is likely to have remodelled the entire body instead – a significant finding for both asteroid science and planetary defence. View the full article

Image: ERS-2 buckles and bends during final farewell View the full article

Week in images: 19-23 February 2024 Discover our week through the lens View the full article

Video: 00:03:29 Mission complete. ESA’s second European Remote Sensing (ERS-2) satellite has reentered Earth’s atmosphere over the North Pacific Ocean. The satellite returned at 18:17 CET (17:17 UTC) between Alaska and Hawaii. ERS-2 was launched almost 30 years ago, on 21 April 1995. Together with ERS-1, it provided invaluable long-term data on Earth’s land surfaces, ocean temperatures, ozone layer and polar ice extent that revolutionised our understanding of the Earth system. ERS-2’s reentry was ‘natural’. ESA used the last of its fuel, emptied its batteries and lowered the satellite from its altitude of 785 km to 573 km. This reduced the risk of collision with other satellites and space debris. As a result, it was not possible to control ERS-2 at any point during its reentry and the only force driving its descent was unpredictable atmospheric drag. As well as leaving a remarkable legacy of data that still continue to advance science, this outstanding mission set the stage for many of today’s satellites and ESA’s position at the forefront of Earth observation. The ERS-2 reentry is part of ESA's wider efforts to ensure the long-term sustainability of space activities. These include ESA's Clean Space initiative which promotes the development of new technologies for more sustainable space missions in collaboration with the wider European space community, as well as the Zero Debris Approach, which will even further reduce the debris left in both Earth and lunar orbits by future missions. View the full article

Image: This Copernicus Sentinel-3 image from October 2023 captures the plains of northern India and Pakistan under a white veil of haze and smoke. View the full article