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ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti trains for a Russian spacewalk in the hydrolab at Roscosmos's Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre (GCTC).
Credit: GCTC
ID: SHL_9640
ESA's Hera asteroid mission encapsulated within its Falcon 9 launcher fairing in preparation to be attached to its launcher. The fairing features the patches of Hera and its CubeSats Milani and Juventas, plus the ESA logo. This image was acquired on 3 October 2024.
Credits: SpaceX
The third Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite, Sentinel-2C, has launched aboard the final Vega rocket, flight VV24, from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The rocket lifted off on 5 September at 03:50 CEST (4 September 22:50 local time).
Sentinel-2C will provide high-resolution data that is essential to Copernicus – the Earth observation component of the European Union’s Space programme. Developed, built and operated by ESA, the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission provides high-resolution optical imagery for a wide range of applications including land, water and atmospheric monitoring.
The mission is based on a constellation of two identical satellites flying in the same orbit but 180° apart: Sentinel-2A and Sentinel-2B. Together, they cover all of Earth’s land and coastal waters every five days. Once Sentinel-2C is operational, it will replace its predecessor, Sentinel-2A, following a brief period of tandem observations. Sentinel-2D will eventually take over from Sentinel-2B.
Sentinel-2C was the last liftoff for the Vega rocket. After 12 years of service, Vega is being retired to make way for the upgraded Vega-C rocket.
Credits: ESA–S. Corvaja
In this black and white infrared image, the Soyuz rocket is seen on the launch pad after the service structure arms were closed around it, Thursday, July 18, 2019 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Expedition 60 Soyuz Commander Alexander Skvortsov of Roscosmos, flight engineer Drew Morgan of NASA, and flight engineer Luca Parmitano of ESA (European Space Agency) are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-13 spacecraft at 12:28 p.m. Eastern time (9:28 p.m. Baikonur time), on Saturday, July 20. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
ESA's technical heart, ESTEC, in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, opened its gates to visitors on 2 October 2016 for the annual Open Day.
Credit: ESA-SJM Photography
An array of Saturn images depict real data from multiple filters mapped onto the RGB colors perceptible to the human eye. Each filter combination emphasizes the subtle differences in cloud altitude or composition. Infrared spectra from the Cassini mission suggested that Saturn’s aerosol particles may have even more complex chemical diversity than on Jupiter.
[Image description: A six-panel collage titled “Saturn, August 22, 2024, HST WFC3/UVIS.” This “Warhol-esque” array of Saturn images depict real data from multiple filters mapped onto the RGB colors perceptible to the human eye. Each filter combination emphasizes subtle differences in cloud altitude or composition. Infrared spectra from the Cassini mission suggested that Saturn’s aerosol particles may have even more complex chemical diversity than on Jupiter. The OPAL (Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy) program extends Cassini’s legacy by measuring how the subtle patterns in the clouds vary over time.]
Credits:NASA, ESA, A. Simon (NASA-GSFC), M. H. Wong (UC Berkeley), J. DePasquale (STScI); CC BY 4.0
The ESA space pavilion at the 52nd international Paris Air and Space Show 2017, Le Bourget
Credit: ESA/D. Scuka
As part of the East Side Access megaproject, the MTA is building a new concourse for the Long Island Rail Road under Grand Central Terminal. This photo shows progress as of October 2013.
Photo: Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Patrick Cashin.
The 11th annual ESA Open Day at ESA’s technical centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, took place on the weekend of 1 and 2 October 2022. On 1 October, visitors with disabilities had the opportunity to follow the tour at their own pace. On both days visitors were able to meet astronauts, space scientists and engineers and learn all about the work carried out at Europe’s largest space establishment.
Credits: G. Porter
Segolene Royal, COP21 President, together with Jan Woerner, ESA Director General; Daniel Neuenschwander, ESA Director of Space Transportation; Claudie Haigneré, Advisor to the Director General of ESA; ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet; and Jean-Yves Le Gall, President of CNES; at the ESA Pavilion, during the Paris Air and Space Show, on 19 June 2017.
Credit: ESA-Philippe Sebirot
Un fin de semana en una casita en el río...Donde no había nada más para fotografiar que justamente el río, árboles y niños, que ya me miraban con cara de pocos amigos...
Aún no llegó la primavera a Argentina, por lo tanto, no había más flores que este pequeño ramito al lado de un árbol y otra flor que encontré abandonada por ahí, en una mini selva...
Soy horrible fotografiando paisajes, de todas maneras, saqué muchas fotos intentando practicar un poco y conocer un poquito más mi cámara ( si me animo subo alguna).
Quería incluir un poco de color a las fotos y todo lo que encontré para ello, fue una manzana que rescaté de las "garras" de los niños que arrasaban con todo.
Me aferré a ella como la [ ARDILLA DE LA ERA DEL HIELO A SU BELLOTA ] y la usé para hacer esta serie de fotos, que intentan ser algo así como una historieta, donde la protagonista es la esa maldita manzana y la actríz secundaria es una pequeña linternita que uso como lúz de lectura
Locuras mías de un fin de semana "campestre", intentando sobrevivir sin mi notebook :P
CONTINUARÁ...
The European Space Agency will soon be releasing a new, cost efficient way of keeping a low-orbit manned presence in space. The whole unit is carried to orbit by an ESA rocket. A nuclear missile is housed in the rear, and the solar panel and engine/comm array detach from the habitation vessel. They re-attach to form a satellite that is left in orbit, while the pilot returns to earth!
On 7 October 2018 we opened the doors of ESTEC, our technical heart in the Netherlands, and welcomed more than 7600 people on a day full of activities including meet-and-greet with astronauts, tours around our test rooms, learning about the science in science fiction, and about the activities ESA does in all its establishments around Europe and beyond.
Credits: ESA–G. Porter
En ese momento me daba miedo esa palabra: SOBREViViR.
Sobrevivir no significa mas que renunciar a tus sueños, tener que adaptarte a la vida porque la vida no se adapta a ti, a tus gustos, a tus necesidades, a tus ambiciones, a tus proyectos de vida, ni siquiera a la comida que te apetecia comer & con quien te apetecia.
Sobrevivir, es Renunciar a lo que quieres porque se te escapa de las manos, o simplemente porque nunca lo conseguiste
At the invitation of ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson attended the ESA Council at ESA’s establishment ESTEC in the Netherlands on 15 June 2022.
ESA is currently working with NASA on many areas, from science such as the James Webb Space Telescope to exploration such as Mars Sample Return, Artemis and the International Space Station, to Earth observation.
At the ESA Council, a framework agreement between ESA and NASA for a strategic partnership in Earth System Science was signed, as well as a memorandum of understanding between ESA and NASA on the Lunar Pathfinder mission.
Credits: ESA-S.Corvaja
SpaceX Crew-2 with ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet arrive at NASA's Shuttle Landing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida on 16 April 2021.
French ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet is returning to the International Space Station on his second spaceflight. The mission, which is called Alpha, will see the first European to launch on a US spacecraft in over a decade. Thomas is flying on the Crew Dragon, alongside NASA astronauts Megan MacArthur and Shane Kimbrough, and Japanese astronaut Aki Hoshide.
The Crew-2 launch is scheduled for 22 April at 11:11 BST/12:11 CEST.
Credits: ESA - S. Corvaja
The Art and Science Exhibition Part III consists of a scientific educational part showing some of the most beautiful satellite images of the Earth, curated by ESA, along with some interactive terminals providing the scientific background information. Several examples of artistic works with satellite imaging and historical references to the field comprise the second part of this exhibition.
This satellite image is also part of the Spaceship Earth Exhibition (2015) at Ars Electronica Center, Linz.
credit: Namib / Satellite: Kompsat-2, KARI/ESA
ESA's newly selected astronaut candidates of the class of 2022 arrived at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany, on 3 April 2023 to begin their 12-month basic training.
The group of five candidates, Sophie Adenot, Pablo Álvarez Fernández, Rosemary Coogan, Raphaël Liégeois, and Marco Sieber, are part of the 17-member astronaut class of 2022, selected from 22 500 applicants from across ESA Member States in November 2022.
The astronaut candidates will be trained to the highest level of standards in preparation for future space missions. During basic training, this includes learning all about space exploration, technical and scientific disciplines, space systems and operations, as well as spacewalk and survival training.
This image shows the candidate Raphaël Liégeois on his first day at the European Astronaut Centre, ready to embark on their journey to become certified ESA astronauts.
Credits: ESA-S. Corvaja
Americana de tomo y lomo. Una imponente maquina por donde se mire. Una verdadera maravilla que circula por la red norte de Chile. Ahora, adaptada para poder circular en vías métricas, sigue cumpliendo sus labores de ir y venir con las tolvas cargadas con mineral de hierro acompañanada de su fiel Slug.
P.K . 724.
ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst reviews camera equipment during training at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, USA ahead of his launch to the International Space Station.
Alexander will be launched on 6 June with US astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor and Russian cosmonaut Sergei Prokopyev from the Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan in the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft. Soyuz MS-09 will be the 138th flight of a Soyuz spacecraft.
The mission is called Horizons to evoke exploring our Universe, looking far beyond our planet and broadening our knowledge. His first mission was called Blue Dot. Alexander will take over command of the International Space Station for the second half of his mission. This is only the second time that a European astronaut will take up this leading position on the space outpost – the first was ESA astronaut Frank De Winne in 2009. Alexander Gerst is the 11th German citizen to fly into space.
The astronaut is now in the last stages of training for his challenging mission. The science programme is packed with European research: more than 50 experiments will deliver benefits to people back on Earth and prepare for future space exploration.
Credits: ESA - S. Corvaja
ESA Astronauten mit Trainer
Alexander Gerst (D), Timothy Peake (UK),
Samantha Cristoforetti (I),
Thomas Pesquet (F),
Luca Parmitano
Ever daydreamed about owning your own spaceship? As the next best thing – thanks to a free app launching today – anyone with an Apple Vision Pro or Meta Quest 3 or 3S VR headset can have ESA’s Hera asteroid mission for planetary defence turn up in their own living room.
Developed by Italian startup DIVE in cooperation with ESA’s Hera mission team, the “Guardians of Earth” app allows users to peer within a virtual spacecraft, learn about how it works, assemble its elements and follow its journey through space to its target asteroid.
“The availability of this app makes for a great Christmas gift, allowing people to learn about and interact with our mission in a totally new and immersive way,” notes Hera mission manager Ian Carnelli. “This was a dream project for DIVE founder Luca De Dominicis, who sadly recently passed away, yet whose vision for making space exploration accessible to everyone continues through this collaboration.”
DIVE CEO Michaelangelo Mochi adds: “Partnering with ESA is a journey we cherish deeply, akin to astronauts venturing into the unknown. We are proud to work alongside an organisation that shares our vision and commitment to exploration.”
Launched last October, Hera is ESA’s first planetary defence mission, on its way to visit the first asteroid to have had its orbit altered by human action. By gathering close-up data about the Dimorphos asteroid, which was impacted by NASA’s DART spacecraft in 2022, Hera will help turn asteroid deflection into a well understood and potentially repeatable technique. Hera is currently on its way to a ‘swingby’ of Mars next spring which will set on course towards Dimorphos.
With Guardians of Earth, users can engage with the Hera spacecraft in remarkable detail through augmented reality. They can choose to put it together piece by piece, discover its advanced instrumentation and experience key space travel technologies. Through the involvement of video game studio 34BigThings, the app offers a 360-degree immersive experience, projecting users into the cosmos with Hera, bringing them face-to-face with celestial bodies encountered along the way.
From today, the app is available for free on Apple Vision Pro from the App Store and for Meta Quest 3 and 3S.
Want to know more about the Hera mission? Try asking the mission ‘directly’, through Hera Space Companion, an interactive AI-powered assistant providing facts about the mission and real-time data from space. The Hera Space Companion has been developed by Terra Mater Studios, Impact AI, and Microsoft Austria in collaboration with ESA.
Credits: ESA/Terra Mater
On 7 October 2018 we opened the doors of ESTEC, our technical heart in the Netherlands, and welcomed more than 7600 people on a day full of activities including meet-and-greet with astronauts, tours around our test rooms, learning about the science in science fiction, and about the activities ESA does in all its establishments around Europe and beyond.
Credits: ESA–G. Porter
ESA's Solar Orbiter spacecraft launches aboard a ULA Atlas V rocket (NASA's main contribution) from pad 41 at the Kennedy Space Center. I was fortunate to be part of a team building scientific hardware for this mission. 9 February 2020.
ESA's Kiruna station supports CryoSat, Integral, the Swarm trio and Sentinel 1A. It is located at Salmijärvi, 38 km east of Kiruna, in northern Sweden. Image credit: ESA - CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
Technology image of the week:
ESA Director General Jan Woerner joined the Agency’s Director of Technology, Engineering and Quality at a special award ceremony for ESA’s inventors.
The ceremony took place at ESA’s technical centre in the Netherlands on 31 May, recognising inventors for their contributions during the past two years, leading to 13 patents.
“It is important to recognise the outstanding results of our ESA staff and contractors,” commented the Director General. “Through their creative work they help to maintain Europe’s competitiveness in the space industry.
“Furthermore, as ambassadors of their ideas, ESA’s inventors support the transfer of these patented technologies to completely new sectors, thereby demonstrating the benefit of space technology for society as a whole.”
In total, ESA’s patent portfolio consists of around 300 patented inventions and about 150 applications in progress, across a diverse variety of technical sectors. This portfolio is managed by the Agency’s Technology Transfer Programme Office, working to find terrestrial uses for advanced space technology.
Among the inventions awarded this time was a compression algorithm specially designed by David Evans to serve data housekeeping aboard satellites: it operates so rapidly that it can compress individual data packets as they are generated.
Credit: ESA–G. Porter
Progress continues on the East Side Access project as of February 12, 2013.
This photo shows work on the caverns underneath Grand Central Terminal that will house a future concourse for arriving and departing Long Island Rail Road trains.
Photo: Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Patrick Cashin.
The European Space Agency has chosen 17 new astronaut candidates from more than 22 500 applicants from across its Member States. In this new 2022 class of ESA astronauts are five career astronauts, 11 members of an astronaut reserve and one astronaut with a disability.
ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher introduced the members of the 2022 ESA astronaut class, the first new recruits in 13 years, today at the Grand Palais Éphémère in Paris, France, shortly after the ESA Council at Ministerial level ended.
The ESA astronaut candidates are:
- Sophie Adenot from France
- Pablo Álvarez Fernández from Spain
- Meganne Christian from the United Kingdom
- Anthea Comellini from Italy
- Rosemary Coogan from the United Kingdom
- Sara García Alonso from Spain
- Raphaël Liégeois from Belgium
- John McFall from the United Kingdom
- Andrea Patassa from Italy
- Carmen Possnig from Austria
- Arnaud Prost from France
- Amelie Schoenenwald from Germany
- Marco Sieber from Switzerland
- Aleš Svoboda from Czech Republic
- Sławosz Uznański from Poland
- Marcus Wandt from Sweden
- Nicola Winter from Germany
Credits: ESA - S. Corvaja