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ESA microwave engineers took apart an entire Galileo satellite to reassemble its navigation payload on a laboratory test bench to run it as though it were in orbit – available to investigate the lifetime performance of its component parts, recreate satellite anomalies, and test candidate technologies for Galileo’s future evolution.
Located in the cleanroom environment of the Galileo Payload Laboratory – part of ESA’s Microwave Lab based at its ESTEC technical centre in the Netherlands – the new Galileo IOV Testbed Facility was inaugurated this week with a ceremony attended by Paul Verhoef, ESA Director of Navigation and Franco Ongaro, ESA Director of Technology, Engineering and Quality.
Paul Verhoef congratulated the team and underlined the importance of ESA having these capabilities: ”Such a navigation payload laboratory does not exist in industry. We foresee the testing and validation a number of very innovative ideas for the next series of Galileo satellites, before entering into discussions with industry in the context of the procurement of the Galileo Transition Satellites that has recently begun. This shows the added value of ESA as the design agent and system engineer of the Galileo system.”
“Our Lab has always been very responsive to the testing needs of the Navigation Directorate,’ comments microwave engineer César Miquel España.
“Now this unique facility allows performance of end-to-end testing of a Galileo payload as representatively as possible, using actual Galileo hardware. We can also support investigations of any problems in orbit or plug in future payload hardware as needed. And because each item of equipment is separately temperature controlled we can see how environmental changes affect their performance.”
The Testbed began as an ‘engineering model’ of a first-generation Galileo In-Orbit Validation (IOV) satellite, built by Thales Alenia Space in Italy for ground-based testing. It was delivered to ESTEC in August 2015, along with four truckloads of ground support equipment and other hardware.
That began a long three-year odyssey to first take the satellite apart, then put it back together – akin at times to space archaeology, since the satellite had been designed more than 15 years ago.
“We found lots of documentation on how to integrate the satellite, but nothing on how to take it apart,” adds technician Gearóid Loughnane. “We had to dismantle it very carefully over several weeks to remove the smaller items safely and take out the electrical harness, which ended up as a big spaghetti pile on the floor.”
The next step was to extricate the navigation payload from the satellite platform, and then begin to lay it out to connect it up again. A parallel effort tracked down supporting software from the companies involved, to be able to operate the payload once it was complete, as if it is orbiting in space.
Valuable help came from Surrey Satellite Technology Limited in the UK, Dutch aerospace company Terma that developed Galileo software, and Rovsing in Denmark, supplying ground support equipment.
“A big challenge was tailoring the spacecraft control and monitoring system to work only with the payload units while having to emulate the platform equipment” comments technician Andrew Allstaff.
Comprising equipment produced by companies in seven separate European companies, the Testbed generates navigation signals using actually atomic clocks co-located in the lab, which are then upconverted, amplified and filtered as if for transmission down to Earth.
The idea came from a GIOVE Payload Testbed already in the Lab, which simulates the performance of a test satellite that prepared the way for Galileo. As a next step the team hopes they can one day produce a Galileo ‘Full Operational Capability’ Payload Testbed – the current follow-on to the first-generation IOV satellites.
The next four Galileo FOC satellites are due to be launched by Ariane 5 in July.
Credits: ESA–Cesar Miquel Espana
Space Forest Perun sounding rocket during liftoff in 2023.
Based in Poland, SpaceForest is developing a new commercial single-stage European sounding rocket offering almost four minutes of microgravity experimentation time. The 11.5-m tall rocket will be able to launch 50 kg up to 150 km in altitude while also stabilising the payload for high-quality microgravity periods of flight.
Perun's engine SF1000 runs on modified paraffin, commonly used as candle wax, and so its propellant is non-toxic. The rocket can be launched on a mobile launchpad, allowing for easy deployment at launch facilities around Europe.
The Perun launch service offers commercial and institutional customers access to microgravity to run experiments. The service is geared to provide easy access to payloads right up to an hour before launch, which is useful for last-minute tweaks, preparing biological samples or charging batteries for example.
Credits: SpaceForest
This spiral galaxy was observed as part of the Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby GalaxieS (PHANGS) programme, a large project that includes observations from several space- and ground-based telescopes of many galaxies to help researchers study all phases of the star formation cycle, from the formation of stars within dusty gas clouds to the energy released in the process that creates the intricate structures revealed by Webb’s new images.
NGC 1433 is 46 million light-years away in the constellation Horologium.
Learn more about what can be seen in this vast collection of Webb images here.
[Image description: Webb’s image of NGC 1433 shows a face-on barred spiral galaxy anchored by its central region, which is circular and shows a bright white point at the centre with a light yellow circle around it. The galaxy has a large bar connected to filamentary spiral orange arms that appear to rotate counterclockwise.]
Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Lee (STScI), T. Williams (Oxford), PHANGS Team
On Friday 17 December, the Ariane 5 rocket fairing was closed around the James Webb Space Telescope. This protective fairing, or ‘nose cone’, will shield the telescope during liftoff and its journey through the atmosphere on 24 December.
Earlier this week, Webb was placed on top of Ariane 5 and a protective ‘shower curtain’ was put up to avoid any contamination.
On the day of encapsulation in the fairing, a protective cover on top of Webb was removed and the fairing was lowered down over the observatory and locked in place for liftoff.
This was a particularly delicate operation, assisted by a laser guiding system, because the margins between the folded up observatory (4.5 m wide) and the rocket fairing (5.4 m wide) are small.
The fairing is equipped with specialised environmental controls that keep the observatory in a perfectly controlled temperature and humidity range during its final few days on Earth.
Now that Webb has been securely attached to its Ariane 5 launch vehicle, and enclosed within its protective fairing, mechanical operations involving the observatory at its launch site in French Guiana have formally concluded.
Final electrical and software configurations will occur on the launch pad during the final hours before liftoff. Webb will switch to internal battery power roughly 20 minutes prior to liftoff, and within 15 minutes prior the observatory and its launch vehicle will both be fully cleared for flight.
Ariane 5’s rollout to the launch pad is scheduled to begin Wednesday 22 December, and this is where final health checks and preparations for liftoff will occur.
Webb will be the largest, most powerful telescope ever launched into space. As part of an international collaboration agreement, ESA is providing the telescope’s launch service using the Ariane 5 launch vehicle. Working with partners, ESA was responsible for the development and qualification of Ariane 5 adaptations for the Webb mission and for the procurement of the launch service by Arianespace.
Webb is an international partnership between NASA, ESA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).
Find out more about Webb in ESA’s launch kit and interactive brochure.
Credits: ESA/CNES/Arianespace/Optique Vidéo du CSG - S.Martin
This oblique perspective view of Lycus Sulci and Yelwa Crater on Mars was generated from the digital terrain model and the nadir and colour channels of the High Resolution Stereo Camera on ESA’s Mars Express. It shows the large 8-km-wide Yelwa Crater in the background, while the wrinkled terrain of Lycus Sulci dominates the foreground. These features lie on the edge of the ‘aureole’ of Mars's largest volcano, Olympus Mons.
Image description: This tan-coloured patch of Mars's surface is split visually in two on the diagonal from lower left to upper right: the upper half is smooth and features a single impact crater (Yelwa Crater), while the bottom half is wrinkled, ridged, textured and at higher relief. This textured ground is Lycus Sulci, on the aureole of Olympus Mons.
Credits: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
This pioneering, single-shot image is one of the first from JAXA’s XRISM mission. It shows a nearby cluster of galaxies called Abell 2319, unveiling its detailed structure. In purple we see X-ray light measured by XRISM; this light is emitted by million-degree gas that permeates between the galaxies in the cluster.
The uneven structure of the purple glow is likely a sign that the gas is being stirred and sloshed over very large scales. The gas cloud is probably also shaped by the past effects of a super-massive black hole that lay at the centre of the galaxy cluster. Xtend’s unique ability to capture the entire cluster in a single shot promises a significant step forward in our understanding of the large-scale structure of the Universe.
The image from XRISM (shown in purple) has been overlaid on a visible-light image from a ground-based telescope. Many of the orange blobs in the visible-light image are galaxies that form part of the cluster.
The XRISM image was taken with the mission’s Xtend instrument, which uses a CCD camera to image extended X-ray emitting celestial sources and their surroundings. Xtend covers a large field-of-view, which is key to ensuring that extended structures in the sky such as galaxy clusters, individual galaxies in the nearby Universe and supernova remnants can be imaged effectively. Xtend images also provide a broader counterpart to the high-resolution spectra gathered by XRISM’s Resolve instrument.
[Image description: An astronomical image with a background full of orange-white dots. In the foreground is a purple square cut into four smaller squares, with lines across it that are a feature of the telescope. The colour that fills the purple square has some shape; it is most densely purple at the top left, whereas the purple is more sparse at the bottom right. A bright, elongated white patch is visible within the densest purple region.]
Credits: X-ray (JAXA), Optical (DSS)
These image (part of a set of two) acquired by Copernicus Sentinel-2 highlights how the mission can help distinguish between clouds and snow.
The Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites each carry a high-resolution multispectral imager to provide optical images in 13 spectral bands, from the visible to the shortwave-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. These two images, from August 2024, capture the same area over the Australian Alps in southeast Australia, but have been produced using the instrument’s different spectral channels.
This false-colour image includes the shortwave-infrared bands, which highlight snow and clouds differently. Snow and ice appear in electric blue, and water vapour, or clouds, can be seen in white.
By comparing the two images, it is now easy to identify snow in blue on the right and thicker clouds in white towards the centre of the image. Thinner layers of clouds and contrails on the other hand are barely visible.
The task of separating clouds from snow is also a critical classification issue when using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to process satellite images – a field that is rapidly growing. By analysing multispectral images, the newest AI algorithms are learning to distinguish between these two elements.
Satellite missions such as Copernicus Sentinel-2 that can provide observations in multiple spectral bands are key to this task, providing a wealth of information in different views of our planet.
Credits: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2024), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
The BepiColombo Mercury Transfer Module (MTM) has returned its first image from space.
The view looks down one of the extended solar arrays, which was deployed earlier this morning and confirmed by telemetry. The structure in the bottom left corner is one of the sun sensors on the MTM, with the multi-layered insulation clearly visible.
The transfer module is equipped with three monitoring cameras, which provide black-and-white snapshots in 1024 x 1024 pixel resolution. The location and field of view of ‘M-CAM 1’, which captured the first image, is indicated in this graphic.
The other two cameras will be activated tomorrow and are expected to capture images of the deployed medium- and high-gain antennas onboard the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO). Click here to see example fields of views.
The monitoring cameras will be used on various occasions during the cruise phase, notably during the flybys of Earth, Venus and Mercury. While the MPO is equipped with a high-resolution scientific camera, this can only be operated after separating from the MTM upon arrival at Mercury in late 2025 because, like several of the 11 instrument suites, it is located on the side of the spacecraft fixed to the MTM during cruise.
BepiColombo launched at 01:45 GMT on 20 October on an Ariane 5. BepiColombo is a joint endeavour between ESA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA. It is the first European mission to Mercury, the smallest and least explored planet in the inner Solar System, and the first to send two spacecraft to make complementary measurements of the planet and its dynamic environment at the same time.
Credits: ESA/BepiColombo/MTM – CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
Of the 22 523 valid astronaut applications received by ESA, the largest number came from France (7087) followed by Germany (3695) and the United Kingdom (2000). The astronaut with a physical disability vacancy attracted a further 257 applications.
Following a comprehensive screening phase, 1361 people were invited to phase two of ESA’s astronaut selection. This is a full day of psychological performance testing at a facility in Europe.
The number of astronaut applicants invited to phase two has also been broken down by Member and Cooperating State. It comprises 530 women and 831 men and at least three candidates from every Member State. This reflects the high caliber of applications received across the board.
In addition, 27 candidates who applied for the astronaut with a disability vacancy have been invited to phase two.
Candidates who are successful at phase two will go on to participate in a set of psychological interviews and group tests ahead of medical testing. Those who successfully pass each of these selection stages will be invited to recruitment interviews. ESA’s new class of astronauts and reserve astronauts is expected to be announced in autumn 2022.
Credits: ESA
This image of galaxy cluster MACS0416 highlights one particular gravitationally lensed background galaxy, which existed about 3 billion years after the big bang. That galaxy contains a transient, or object that varies in observed brightness over time, that the science team nicknamed “Mothra.” Mothra is a star that is magnified by a factor of at least 4,000 times. The team believes that Mothra is magnified not only by the gravity of galaxy cluster MACS0416, but also by an object known as a “milli-lens” that likely weighs about as much as a globular star cluster.
[Image description: A field of galaxies on the black background of space. In the middle, stretching from left to right, is a collection of dozens of yellowish spiral and elliptical galaxies that form a foreground galaxy cluster. Among them are distorted linear features created when the light of a background galaxy is bent and magnified through gravitational lensing. At centre left, a particularly prominent example stretches vertically about three times the length of a nearby galaxy. It is outlined by a white box, and a lightly shaded wedge leads to an enlarged view at the bottom right. The linear feature is reddish and curves gently. It is studded with about a half dozen bright clumps. One such spot near the middle of the feature is labelled “Mothra]
Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Diego (Instituto de Física de Cantabria, Spain), J. D’Silva (U. Western Australia), A. Koekemoer (STScI), J. Summers & R. Windhorst (ASU), and H. Yan (U. Missouri)
This image from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope shows a massive galaxy cluster called WHL0137-08, and at the right, an inset of the most strongly magnified galaxy known in the Universe’s first billion years: the Sunrise Arc. Within that galaxy is the most distant star ever detected, first discovered by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.
Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) instrument reveals the star, nicknamed Earendel, to be a massive B-type star more than twice as hot as our Sun, and about a million times more luminous. Stars of this mass often have companions. Astronomers did not expect Webb to reveal any companions of Earendel since they would be so close together and indistinguishable on the sky. However, based solely on the colours of Earendel detected by Webb, astronomers think they see hints of a cooler companion star.
Webb’s NIRCam also shows other remarkable details in the Sunrise Arc. Features include both young star-forming regions and older established star clusters. On either side of the wrinkle of maximum magnification, which runs right through Earendel, these features are mirrored by the distortion of the gravitational lens. The region forming stars appears elongated, and is estimated to be less than 5 million years old. Smaller dots on either side of Earendel are two images of one older, more established star cluster, estimated to be 10 million years or older. Astronomers determined this star cluster is gravitationally bound and likely to persist until the present day. This shows us how the globular clusters in our own Milky Way might have looked when they formed 13 billion years ago.
[Image description: The image is split in half vertically to create two images. In the left image, a black background is scattered with hundreds of small galaxies of different shapes, ranging in colour from white to yellow to red. Some galaxies, mostly the redder galaxies, are distorted, appearing to be stretched out or mirror imaged. Just a little bit above the centre, there is a bright source of light, a star, with 8 bright diffraction spikes extending out from it. The right image is a zoomed-in portion of the image at the left, showing a particularly long, red, thin line that stretches from 1 o’clock to 7 o’clock. There are several bright dots, some thicker than others, along this line, with one labelled as Earendel.]
Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, D. Coe (AURA/STScI for ESA), Z. Levay
Portrait of ESA astronaut candidate: Sophie Adenot
ESA's astronaut candidates of the class of 2022 at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne.
The five candidates are Sophie Adenot, Pablo Álvarez Fernández, Rosemary Coogan, Raphaël Liégeois, and Marco Sieber. The group is part of the 17-member astronaut class of 2022, selected from 22 500 applicants from across ESA Member States.
The astronaut candidates will be trained to the highest level for future space missions. Basic training includes learning about space exploration, technical and scientific disciplines, space systems and operations, as well as spacewalks and survival training.
The astronaut candidates are joined by Australian Space Agency astronaut candidate Katherine Bennell-Pegg.
Credits: ESA–A. Conigli
The Orion spacecraft with European Service Module at NASA’s Plum Brook Station. The first Orion will fly farther from Earth on the Artemis I mission than any human-rated vehicle has ever flown before – but first it will undergo testing to ensure the spacecraft withstands the extremes of spaceflight.
Here at NASA’s Plum Brook Station in Ohio, USA, Orion is being put into a thermal cage in preparation of getting its first feel of space in the world’s largest thermal vacuum chamber.
Orion will be subjected to temperatures at Plum Brook ranging from –115°C to 75°C in vacuum for over two months non-stop – the same temperatures it will experience in direct sunlight or in the shadow of Earth or the Moon while flying in space.
In the picture, Orion is being placed in a cage, called the Thermal Enclosure Structure (TES), that will radiate infrared heat during the tests inside the vacuum chamber.
The tests that will be run over the next few months will show that the spacecraft works as planned and adheres to the strictest safety regulations for human spaceflight. The European Service Module has 33 thrusters, 11 km of electrical wiring, four propellant and two pressurisation tanks that all work together to supply propulsion and everything needed to keep astronauts alive far from Earth – there is no room for error.
Credits: ESA–S. Corvaja
This stereoscopic image shows the Idaeus Fossae region of Mars. It was generated from data captured by the High Resolution Stereo Camera on ESA’s Mars Express orbiter on 8 November 2024 (orbit 26325). The anaglyph offers a three-dimensional view when viewed using red-green or red-blue glasses.
[Image description: A grey-toned martian surface with a rough, cracked texture. Several circular impact craters of different sizes are scattered across the scene, including one large crater on the right with steep, shadowed walls. The terrain looks dry and barren, with faint ridges and fractures running through it.]
Credits: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
The James Webb Space Telescope was transferred to the final assembly building at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on 7 December 2021, to meet its Ariane 5 launch vehicle.
Stowed inside a special 23-tonne transport container, Webb was protected and monitored throughout the transfer.
Ariane 5 was already moved to the same building on 29 November. Here, adjustable platforms allow engineers to access the launch vehicle and its payload.
The next steps are to hoist Webb to the upper platform which has been prepared so that Webb can be integrated on Ariane 5’s upper stage and then encapsulated inside Ariane 5’s specially adapted fairing.
Webb is scheduled for launch on 22 December from Europe’s Spaceport. Ground teams have already successfully completed the delicate operation of loading the spacecraft with the propellant it will use to steer itself while in space.
Webb will be the largest, most powerful telescope ever launched into space. As part of an international collaboration agreement, ESA is providing the telescope’s launch service using the Ariane 5 launch vehicle. Working with partners, ESA was responsible for the development and qualification of Ariane 5 adaptations for the Webb mission and for the procurement of the launch service by Arianespace.
Webb is an international partnership between NASA, ESA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).
Find out more about Webb in ESA’s launch kit and interactive brochure.
Credits: ESA/CNES/Arianespace/Optique Vidéo du CSG - P Piron
The Ariane 6 launch pad at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana now hosts the first example of ESA’s new heavy-lift rocket. This Ariane 6 combined tests model will be used to validate the entire launch system during its ground phase in readiness for the inaugural launch of Ariane 6.
The combined tests include filling tanks, and draining them in case of launch abort, count-down automated sequence, and cryogenic arms disconnection and retraction at a simulated liftoff.
These tests will be carried out under ESA’s authority by an integrated team from ESA, ArianeGroup and French space agency CNES.
The Ariane 6 combined tests model is highly representative of the flight model. It consists of the core stage and the upper stage, which make up the central core, as well as three pylons shaped like the rocket’s solid boosters and a fully representative but inert mockup of the fourth booster.
The Ariane 6 combined tests model central core was precisely mated in the purpose-built launcher assembly building, where this task is carried out horizontally. Automated guidance vehicles then brought the assembled core to the launch and, working with the crane at the mobile gantry, raised it to its vertical position.
Ariane 6 is a modular launch vehicle using either two or four P120C strap-on boosters, depending on mission requirements. The P120C engine does double duty, also serving as the first stage of ESA’s new Vega-C rocket.
The reignitable Vinci engine which powers the upper stage allows Ariane 6 to deliver multiple payloads to different orbits on a single launch. After payload separation a final engine burn deorbits the upper stage so that it does not become a debris threat in space.
Ariane 6 development is project-managed and funded by ESA, which also acts as launch system architect. ArianeGroup is design authority and industrial prime contractor for the launcher system and CNES is prime contractor for the Ariane 6 launch base at Europe’s Spaceport. Arianespace is the launch service provider of Ariane 6.
Credits: ESA - S. Corvaja
The 122-tonne reflector dish for ESA's newest deep space communication antenna was lifted and place atop its tower in Australia on 19 September 2024.
Credits: ESA
The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has observed the best evidence yet for emission from a neutron star at the site of a well-known and recently-observed supernova. The supernova, known as SN 1987A, occurred 168 000 light-years from Earth in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
Left: Webb’s 2023 NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) image of SN 1987A that highlights the object’s central structure, expanding with several thousands km/s. The blue region is the densest part of the clumpy ejecta, containing heavy elements like carbon, oxygen, magnesium and iron, as well as dust. The bright ‘ring of pearls’ is the result of the collision of the ejecta with a ring of gas ejected about 20 000 years before the explosion. Now spots are found even exterior to the ring, with diffuse emission surrounding it. These are the locations of supernova shocks hitting more exterior material from the progenitor star. The outer ejecta is now illuminated by X-rays from the collision, while the inner ejecta is powered mainly by radioactivity and a putative compact object.
Right: An international team of astronomers has now used two of Webb’s instruments to study the emissions from the core of SN 1987A. The top image features the data from Webb’s MRS (Medium Resolution Spectrograph) mode of the MIRI instrument (Mid-InfraRed Instrument). The bottom image depicts data from Webb’s NIRSpec (Near Infrared Spectrograph) at shorter wavelengths. Spectral analysis of the MIRI results showed a strong signal due to ionised argon from the centre of the ejected material that surrounds the original site of SN 1987A. The NIRSpec data found even more heavily ionised chemical species, particularly five times ionised argon (meaning argon atoms that have lost five of their 18 electrons). Weak lines of ionised sulphur were also detected with MIRI. This indicated to the science team that there is a source of high-energy radiation in the centre of the SN 1987A remnant, illuminating an almost point-like region in the centre. The most likely source is believed to be a newly born neutron star.
Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, and C. Fransson (Stockholm University), M. Matsuura (Cardiff University), M. J. Barlow (University College London), P. J. Kavanagh (Maynooth University), J. Larsson (KTH Royal Institute of Technology)
The Ariane 5 launch vehicle which will launch the James Webb Space Telescope was moved to the final assembly building at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on 29 November 2021.
Ariane 5 parts shipped from Europe to French Guiana, have been coming together inside the launch vehicle integration building.
The lower part of the Ariane 5 comprises the cryogenic main core stage (with the Vulcain main engine, oxygen and hydrogen tanks), two solid rocket boosters and the upper composite, including the cryogenic upper stage (with the HM7B engine, oxygen and hydrogen tanks), the vehicle equipment bay – the 'brain' of the launcher, and all supporting structures that will interface with Webb on its adaptor.
A launch table is used to transport the Ariane 5 vehicle between the launch vehicle integration building, the final assembly building and the launch pad.
Webb, now fuelled, will soon be integrated on Ariane 5’s upper stage and then encapsulated inside Ariane 5’s specially adapted fairing.
Webb will be the largest, most powerful telescope ever launched into space. As part of an international collaboration agreement, ESA is providing the telescope’s launch service using the Ariane 5 launch vehicle. Working with partners, ESA was responsible for the development and qualification of Ariane 5 adaptations for the Webb mission and for the procurement of the launch service by Arianespace.
Webb is an international partnership between NASA, ESA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).
Find out more about Webb in ESA’s launch kit and interactive brochure.
Credits: ESA/CNES/Arianespace/Optique Vidéo du CSG - P Baudon
After it's arrival at Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana ahead of launch, the James Webb Space Telescope is unboxed inside a dedicated spacecraft preparation facility where it will be examined to ensure that it is undamaged from its voyage and in good working order.
Credits: ESA/CNES/Arianespace/Optique vidéo du CSG - P.Piron
The BepiColombo spacecraft stack is mounted on the launcher.
BepiColombo is a joint endeavour between ESA and JAXA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. JAXA’s Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter is seen at the top of the stack, ESA’s Mercury Planetary Orbiter is in the middle, and ESA’s Mercury Transfer Module is at the bottom.
Credits: ESA/CNES/Arianespace/Optique video du CSG – JM Guillon
ESA’s Proba-V minisatellite images the verdant Yucatán peninsula, once home to the Maya civilization and the site of the impact believed to have doomed the dinosaurs.
As part of the Atlantic Hurricane Belt – placed between the Gulf of Mexico to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east – the largely flat peninsula is vulnerable to storms from the east. Yet, its easternmost side is the site of popular beach resorts and tourist hotspots such as the city of Cancún. Moving further south towards Belize, the state of Quintana Roo is home to the biosphere reserve of Sian Ka'an, home to jaguars and archaeological sites of the Maya.
On the western side, the large orange-brown spot is the city of Mérida, near the centre of the buried Chicxulub crater. This was formed by the impact of a 10- to 15- km large asteroid or comet, triggering a major climate disruption and extinction event, just under 66 million years ago.
Launched on 7 May 2013, Proba-V is a miniaturised ESA satellite tasked with a full-scale mission: to map land cover and vegetation growth across the entire planet every two days.
Its main camera’s continent-spanning 2250 km swath width collects light in the blue, red, near-infrared and mid-infrared wavebands at 300 m resolution and down to 100 m resolution in its central field of view.
VITO Remote Sensing in Belgium processes and then distributes Proba-V data to users worldwide. An online image gallery highlights some of the mission’s most striking images so far, including views of storms, fires and deforestation.
This 100 m resolution image was acquired on 23 July 2018.
Proba-V is currently the subject of ESA’s latest ‘citizen science’ competition, requesting teams to produce ‘super-resolution’ images equivalent to its 100 m mode from sets of 300 m imagery.
Credits: ESA/Belspo – produced by VITO
ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti arrives at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, with NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines and Jessica Watkins on 18 April 2022.
Collectively known as Crew-4, the astronauts flew in from Houston, Texas, and will spend the next week in quarantine before being launched to the International Space Station on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft.
When they arrive at the Station, Samantha’s Minerva mission will officially begin. This is the second long-duration space mission for Samantha who first flew to the orbital outpost in 2014 for her Italian Space Agency ASI-sponsored mission Futura.
Samantha will be welcomed on board by fellow ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer and enjoy a short handover in orbit before Matthias returns to Earth in April as part of Crew-3.
Throughout her mission, Samantha will hold the role of US Orbital Segment (USOS) lead, taking responsibility for all operations within the US, European, Japanese and Canadian modules and components of the Space Station. She will support around 35 European and many more international experiments in orbit.
For more about Samantha and her Minerva mission, visit the Minerva mission page.
Credits: ESA - S. Corvaja
ESA’s state-of-the-art Biomass satellite has launched aboard a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The rocket lifted off on 29 April 2025 at 11:15 CEST (06:15 local time).
In orbit, this latest Earth Explorer mission will provide vital insights into the health and dynamics of the world’s forests, revealing how they are changing over time and, critically, enhancing our understanding of their role in the global carbon cycle. It is the first satellite to carry a fully polarimetric P-band synthetic aperture radar for interferometric imaging. Thanks to the long wavelength of P-band, around 70 cm, the radar signal can slice through the whole forest layer to measure the ‘biomass’, meaning the woody trunks, branches and stems, which is where trees store most of their carbon.
Vega-C is the evolution of the Vega family of rockets and delivers increased performance, greater payload volume and improved competitiveness.
Credits: ESA - S.Corvaja
Hera being enclosed within the two halves of its 13-m-high launcher fairing, which will safeguard the spacecraft during its initial ascent through the atmosphere aboard its Falcon 9 launcher. This image was acquired on 3 October 2024.
Credits: SpaceX
From left to right, mission specialist Tibor Kapu, pilot Shubhanshu Shukla, commander Peggy Whitson, and ESA project astronaut and mission specialist Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski during the Ax-4 SpaceX dry dress rehearsal.
Sławosz is heading to the International Space Station on his first mission as part of Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4). He is the second ESA project astronaut from a new generation of Europeans to fly on a commercial human spaceflight mission with Axiom Space.
Sponsored by the Polish government and supported by ESA, the Polish Ministry of Economic Development and Technology (MRiT), and the Polish Space Agency (POLSA), the mission—called Ignis—features an ambitious technological and scientific programme. It includes several experiments proposed by the Polish space industry and developed in cooperation with ESA, along with additional ESA-led experiments.
Follow Sławosz's journey on the Ignis mission website.
Credits: SpaceX
The James Webb Space Telescope, configured for flight, was moved from the cleanroom to the payload preparation facility for fuelling at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on 11–12 November 2021.
Webb will be loaded with propellants before being mounted on top of the rocket and then encapsulated by the Ariane 5 fairing.
Webb will be the largest, most powerful telescope ever launched into space. As part of an international collaboration agreement, ESA is providing the telescope’s launch service using the Ariane 5 launch vehicle. Working with partners, ESA was responsible for the development and qualification of Ariane 5 adaptations for the Webb mission and for the procurement of the launch service by Arianespace.
Webb is an international partnership between NASA, ESA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).
Find out more about Webb in ESA’s launch kit and interactive brochure.
Credits: ESA/CNES/Arianespace/Optique Vidéo du CSG - P Baudon
ESA’s state-of-the-art Biomass satellite has launched aboard a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The rocket lifted off on 29 April 2025 at 11:15 CEST (06:15 local time).
In orbit, this latest Earth Explorer mission will provide vital insights into the health and dynamics of the world’s forests, revealing how they are changing over time and, critically, enhancing our understanding of their role in the global carbon cycle. It is the first satellite to carry a fully polarimetric P-band synthetic aperture radar for interferometric imaging. Thanks to the long wavelength of P-band, around 70 cm, the radar signal can slice through the whole forest layer to measure the ‘biomass’, meaning the woody trunks, branches and stems, which is where trees store most of their carbon.
Vega-C is the evolution of the Vega family of rockets and delivers increased performance, greater payload volume and improved competitiveness.
Credits: ESA - S.Corvaja
At 11:12 GMT (13:12 CEST), 6 June 2018, ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst was launched into space alongside NASA astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor and Roscosmos commander Sergei Prokopyev in the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft from Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
The launch went as planned as the 50-m tall Soyuz rocket propelled the astronauts to their cruising speed of around 28 800 km/h. Within 10 minutes of rising from the pad, the trio travelled over 1640 km and gained 210 km altitude. Every second for nine minutes, their spacecraft accelerated 50 km/h on average.
The spacecraft is an improved model from the last time Alexander was launched into space in 2014 with many technological upgrades to make the spacecraft lighter and more modern. For example, halogen lights have been replaced with LEDs, and newer and larger solar panels increase power generation.
Over the next two days, while circling Earth 34 times, the trio will catch up with the International Space Station where they will spend the next six months. The journey is relatively smooth and quiet after the rigours of launch. With no Internet or satellite phones, the crew relies on radio to communicate at set intervals with ground control.
The German astronaut is a returning visitor to the International Space Station, the first of ESA’s 2009 class of astronauts to be sent into space for a second time. During the second part of his mission Alexander will take over as commander of the International Space Station, only the second time an ESA astronaut will take on this role so far.
Credits: ESA - S. Corvaja
The Crew Dragon capsule carrying ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer and NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Thomas Marshburn and Kayla Barron home from the International Space Station splashed down off the coast of Florida, USA, on Friday 6 May 2022 at 05:43 BST/06:43 CEST.
Its return marks the end of Crew-3’s almost six-month stay in orbit and the end of Matthias’s first mission, known as Cosmic Kiss.
Crew-3 undocked from the International Space Station in Crew Dragon spacecraft Endurance at 06:20 BST/07:20 CEST Thursday 5 May.
When a Crew capsule splashes down, it is met by nearby ships with experts ready to bring it on board, open the hatch, and welcome the astronauts home. After initial medical checks, the crew is transported by helicopter to shore.
Now that his mission has come to an end, Matthias will return to ESA’s European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany, where he will participate in post-flight debriefings, provide samples for scientific evaluation and readapt to Earth’s gravity with the support of ESA experts.
Credits: ESA - S. Corvaja
Akin to landing lights for aircraft, ESA is developing infrared and phosphorescent markers for satellites, to help future space servicing vehicles rendezvous and dock with their targets.
Developed by Hungarian company Admatis as part of an ESA Clean Space project, these markers would offer robotic space servicing vehicles a steady target to home in on, providing critical information on the line of sight, distance and pointing direction of their target satellite.
Initial testing of these ‘Passive Emitting Material at end-of-life’ or PEMSUN markers took place at the end of March 2019 inside ESA’s GNC Rendezvous, Approach and Landing Simulator, part of the Agency's Orbital Robotics and Guidance, Navigation and Control Laboratory, at its ESTEC technical centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands.
“The idea itself is not new, but this is the first time we’ve manufactured and tested sample patches, cut into spacecraft multi-layer insulation covering,” comments ESA Clean Space trainee Sébastien Perrault. “For the design we’ve looked into one larger pattern incorporating smaller versions for when the space servicing vehicle comes close enough that its camera’s field of view is filled.
“These markers would be very useful during eclipse states for instance, when Earth obscures the Sun in low Earth orbit, to allow the chaser vehicle to stay fixed on its target, potentially in combination with radio tags.”
ESA is studying space servicing vehicles to carry out a wide range of roles in orbit, from refurbishment and refuelling to mission disposal at their end of life.
Credits: ESA–P. Sebirot
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.
Credits: ESA - S. Corvaja
For the millions of people suffering from asthma around the world, pioneering research in orbit is uncovering new ways of understanding what goes wrong in patients with airway inflammation. The results are helping to develop quick and ultra-sensitive lung tests for an improved quality of life – both on Earth and in space.
With each lungful of air, our bodies absorb oxygen and exhale waste-product molecules. In people with asthma, inflammation in the lungs adds nitric oxide to exhaled air. Doctors measure the amount of nitric oxide exhaled by patients to diagnose inflamed lungs and asthma.
On the Moon and Mars, an astronaut’s lungs may become easily irritated or inflamed by dust particles. The reduced gravity on those celestial bodies makes the dust floating around a real threat for humans. The Airway Monitoring experiment looks at the amount of nitric oxide expelled by the astronauts in a microgravity environment and reduced pressure.
An easy-to-use and accurate device is used in clinics and hospitals today, helping asthmatics and offering a cheaper way to diagnose lung problems around the world.
Credits: ESA
Our planet's atmosphere reduces the energy of satellites in orbit (on Earth, this would be like reducing their speed, but in space, it's complex!). This then brings them back down to Earth.
This process can be relatively fast for satellites flying at low altitudes, taking less than 25 years, but for satellites launched into orbits tens of thousands of kilometres away, it can be thousands of years before they return, if the atmosphere is able to impact them at all.
Had the dinosaurs launched a satellite into the furthest geostationary orbit, it would still be up there today.
This means that as we launch satellites to space we must consider how they will be removed at the end of their lives, or else the skies will be filled with old, defunct spacecraft at risk of collision, explosion, and the near-certain creation of vast amounts of space debris.
In this infographic from ESA and UNOOSA, find out how long it would take satellites at different altitudes to naturally fall back to Earth, and what must be done to responsibly dispose of them at the end of their lives.
Find out more in Episode two of the corresponding ESA-UN podcast, "Falling to Earth takes a long time".
Credits: ESA / UNOOSA
ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer and NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn and Kayla Barron walk out from the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, ready for launch.
Known as “Crew-3” the four astronauts will be launched to the International Space Station from launchpad 39A, aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft “Endurance”, atop a Falcon 9 rocket.
Initially scheduled for 31 October, the launch of Crew-3 was delayed by weather and a minor crew medical issue. With a favourable forecast and the crew in good health, liftoff is now planned for 02:03 GMT/03:03 CET Thursday 11 November. This is the first spaceflight for Matthias, who will be the 600th human to fly to space.
On Station, Matthias will become a long-duration crew member, spending around six months living and working in orbit. During this time, he will support more than 35 European experiments and numerous international experiments on board.
Visit the Cosmic Kiss mission page to learn more about Matthias’s mission.
Credits: ESA - S. Corvaja
Precipitation rate at ground map overlapped to a corresponding Meteosat Third Generation image.
The map shows areas with high rainfall intensity levels on the morning of 29 October, at 08:00 UTC in dark blue, mainly affecting Valencia and its province. Blue areas indicate that the precipitation rate was higher than 50 mm/hr in the Valencia region. More details about the precipitation rate at ground map can be found here.
Credits: Eumetsat 2024
On the launchpad, the rocket rises toward the sky. On stage, an orchestra summons the symphony of space, joined by a choir and band.
Välkommen till Stockholm, Swedish home of a festival that has run for 15 years at the heart of the city centre. This is where a constellation of European astronauts, epic music under the stars and a live connection with the International Space Station will kick off today at the height of the Scandinavian summer.
Space is the theme of this year’s Stockholm Culture Festival. Highlights of opening night include the world premiere of the multimedia experience ‘Space Station Earth’, as well as a live call with Luca Parmitano on the International Space Station and in-person appearances by ESA astronauts Tim Peake and Thomas Reiter.
This image was taken during the rehearsal of ‘Space Station Earth’, a new live experience featuring images shot by astronauts set to original music by composer Ilan Eshkeri and presented to the audience with the latest in audio-visual techniques. Get a taste of the show here.
Attendance is free, but if you cannot pass by Stockholm tonight you can follow the live call with Luca on the International Space Station at 20:10 CEST (18:10) via NASA Live.
The festival invites thousands to experience space through popular culture from 13 to 17 August. Art, music, films and science activities for all ages will take to the streets to satisfy the audience’s curiosity about space.
ESA astrophysicist Matt Taylor will share the fascinating space adventure of Rosetta, the first ever mission to land on a comet. Sweden’s first astronaut Christer Fuglesang will read excerpts of his five adventure books for children and answer questions about space.
At the festival’s giant interactive planet exhibition, the whole family can feel and learn more about our galaxy and how space can improve our lives on Earth. Building a house on Mars, putting together a musical satellite, painting the universe and making a cosmic necklace are also part of the family-friendly activities.
Credits: ESA – M. Cowan
The fairing of the US Atlas V 411 rocket with ESA’s Solar Orbiter spacecraft inside at the Astrotech payload processing facility near Kennedy Space Center in Florida during launch preparations on 21 January 2020.
Solar Orbiter is an ESA-led space mission with strong NASA participation to study the Sun, its outer atmosphere and what drives the dynamic outflow of solar wind that affects Earth. The spacecraft will observe the Sun's atmosphere up close with high spatial resolution telescopes and compare these observations with measurements taken in the environment directly surrounding the spacecraft – together creating a detailed picture of how the Sun affects the space environment around Earth and further out in the Solar System.
Thanks to its unique — and difficult to achieve — orbit, Solar Orbiter will also provide the first-ever pictures of the Sun's polar regions, offering key insights into the poorly-understood magnetic environment there, which helps drive the Sun’s 11-year solar cycle and its periodic outpouring of solar storms. Solar Orbiter relies on a combination of 10 instruments, built throughout Europe and in the US. The instruments, combining both remote-sensing observations and in situ measurements, were carefully chosen and designed so as to support and amplify each other’s observations, together providing the single, most comprehensive and integrated view of the Sun and its environment ever achieved.
Credits: ESA–S. Corvaja
An infrared view of a laser-based test campaign – taking place at Redwire Space in Kruibeke, Belgium – which represents crucial preparation for ESA’s precision formation flying mission, Proba-3.
Later this year, two satellites will be launched together into orbit to maintain formation relative to each other down to a few millimetres, creating an artificial solar eclipse in space. Proba-3’s ‘Occulter’ spacecraft will cast a shadow onto the other ‘Coronagraph’ spacecraft to block out the fiery face of the Sun and make the ghostly solar corona available for sustained observation for up to six hours per 19.5 hour orbit.
However to maintain the position of a shadow just a few centimetres across on the Coronagraph satellite from the Occulter satellite around 150 m away, the two satellites rely on a suite of sensors, including intersatellite radio links, GNSS, visual imaging and – for the most precise positioning at closest range – a laser metrology (or ‘measurement of measurement’) system. This system will shoot a laser from the Occulter spacecraft toward a corner cube retroreflector placed on the face of the Coronagraph spacecraft for tracking of relative position and attitude (pointing direction), achieving millimetre precision.
“To calibrate Proba-3’s laser metrology system, its performance was tested within the 60-m long Redwire cleanroom,” explains Damien Galano, Proba-3’s mission manager. “The Coronagraph’s laser was reflected off a retroreflector and the resulting positioning measurements checked against absolute ‘ground truth’ using a separate laser tracking system.”
This mission is being put together for ESA by a consortium led by Spain’s Sener, with participation by more than 29 companies from 14 countries. The Proba-3 platforms have been designed by Airbus Defence and Space in Spain and satellite integration by Redwire in Belgium. GMV in Spain is responsible for Proba-3’s formation flying subsystem while its main coronagraph instrument comes from Belgium’s Centre Spatial de Liège, CSL. Proba-3 is due to be launched by PSLV-XL launcher from India in September.
Credits: ESA - M. Pédoussaut
ESA joined the Space Pavilion at ILA 2022 to present the newest programmes, missions and technologies at the heart of Europe’s space effort. The Pavilion also highlights upcoming commercial opportunities in the space sector for German, European and global industry focussing on sustainability and climate change, digitalization, innovation, research and space safety.
Credits: ESA - P. Sebirot
This week ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer is refreshing his rock classification, as well as acting as test subject during dry runs for a new session of Pangaea geology field training, that is preparing space farers for lunar exploration.
The team, consisting of planetary geologists and training experts, is in Lofoten, Norway, scouting for a new traverses to be added to the Pangaea analogue complement.
Lofoten shares many geological features with lunar highlands, such as the Apollo 16 landing site, making it a perfect site to train astronauts on lunar geology.
Pangaea instructors Matteo Massironi, Riccardo Pozzobon, and Fransceco Sauro, as well as petrology professor and local expert Kåre Kullerud are guiding Matthias Maurer through interesting geological sites in the Nusfjord, an area containing primitive crust rock formations, including anorthosites, which are known to be typical lunar highland rocks.
The Pangaea course is designed to provide European astronauts with introductory and practical knowledge of Earth and planetary geology to prepare them to become effective partners of planetary scientists and engineers in designing the next exploration missions. The course also aims to give astronauts a solid knowledge in the geology of the Solar System from leading European scientists.
Credits: ESA–S. Sechi
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
SpaceX Crew-2 Walkout and dry dress rehearsal with ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet on 18 April 2021 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
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 06:11 EDT/12:11 CEST.
Credits: ESA - S. Corvaja
A team of scientists has used the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope to observe an exceptionally bright gamma-ray burst, GRB 230307A, and its associated kilonova. Kilonovas – an explosion produced by a neutron star merging with either a black hole or with another neutron star – are extremely rare, making it difficult to observe these events. The highly sensitive infrared capabilities of Webb helped scientists identify the home address of the two neutron stars that created the kilonova.
This image from Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) instrument highlights GRB 230307A’s kilonova and its former home galaxy among their local environment of other galaxies and foreground stars. The neutron stars were kicked out of their home galaxy and travelled the distance of about 120 000 light-years, approximately the diameter of the Milky Way galaxy, before finally merging several hundred million years later.
This image is a composite of separate exposures acquired by the James Webb Space Telescope using the NIRCam instrument. Several filters were used to sample wide wavelength ranges. The colour results from assigning different hues (colours) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colours are: Blue: F115W + F150W Green: F277W Red: F356W + F444W
[Image description: Bright galaxies and other light sources in various sizes and shapes are scattered across a black swath of space: small points, hazy elliptical-like smudges with halos, and spiral-shaped blobs. The objects vary in colour: white, blue-white, yellow-white, and orange-red. Toward the centre right is a blue-white spiral galaxy seen face-on that is larger than the other light sources in the image.]
Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, A. Levan (IMAPP, Warw), A. Pagan (STScI)
Why Saturn appear blue in this picture? Typically color images are composed from three black & white images, taken with red, green and blue filters. In this case instead of "red", near-infrared was used.
This composition was created from 12 images in near-infrared, green and blue, taken by NASA Cassini spacecraft on Sept. 22, 2009.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute/Mindaugas Macijauskas
The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has observed the very outskirts of our Milky Way galaxy. Known as the Extreme Outer Galaxy, this region is located more than 58 000 light-years from the galactic centre.
A team of scientists used Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) and MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) to image four selected regions within two molecular clouds known as Digel Clouds 1 and 2: 1A, 1B, 2N, and 2S. These Webb observations enable scientists to study star formation in the outer Milky Way at the same level of detail as observations of star formation in our own solar neighbourhood.
Thanks to its high sensitivity and sharp resolution, Webb was able to capture these areas, which are hosts to star clusters undergoing bursts of star formation, in unprecedented detail. Some of the details revealed by these data include components of the clusters such as very young protostars, outflows and jets, and distinctive nebular structures.
In the case of Cloud 2S, shown here, Webb revealed a luminous main cluster that contains newly formed stars. This dense area is quite active and several stars are emitting extended jets of material along their poles. Additionally, while scientists previously suspected a sub-cluster might be present within the cloud, Webb’s imaging capabilities confirmed its existence for the first time. Webb’s data reveal that there are multiple jets shooting out in different directions from this cluster of stars.
This Webb imagery of the Extreme Outer Galaxy and the Digel Clouds is just a starting point for the team. They intend to revisit this Milky Way outpost to find answers to a variety of current questions, including the relative abundance of stars of various masses within Extreme Outer Galaxy star clusters. This is a measurement that would help astronomers understand how a particular environment can influence different types of stars during their formation.
Though the story of star formation is complex and some chapters are still shrouded in mystery, Webb is gathering clues and helping astronomers unravel this intricate tale.
These findings have been published in the Astronomical Journal.
The observations were taken as part of Guaranteed Time Observation program 1237.
[Image description: At centre is a compact star cluster composed of luminous red, blue, and white points of light. Faint jets with clumpy, diffuse material extend in various directions from the bright cluster. Above and to the right is a smaller cluster of stars. Translucent red wisps of material stretch across the scene, though there are patches and a noticeable gap in the top left corner that reveal the black background of space. Background galaxies are scattered across this swath of space, appearing as small blue-white and orange-white dots or fuzzy, thin discs. There is one noticeably larger blue-white point with diffraction spikes, a foreground star in the upper right.]
Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, M. Ressler (NASA-JPL); CC BY 4.0
Rollout to the launch pad of the Soyuz rocket with the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft inside, 4 June 2018. The spacecraft will launch ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst into space alongside NASA astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor and Roscosmos commander Sergei Prokopyev from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on 6 June.
The 50-m tall Soyuz rocket will propell the astronauts to their cruising speed of around 28 800 km/h. Within 10 minutes of rising from the pad, the trio travelled over 1640 km and gained 210 km altitude. Every second for nine minutes, their spacecraft accelerated 50 km/h on average.
The rocket is rolled to the launch pad on a train, the astronauts are not allowed to see this part of the launch preparation – it is considered bad luck.
This will be Alexander’s second spaceflight, called Horizons. He will also be the second ESA astronaut to take over command of the International Space Station. The Horizons science programme is packed with European research: over 50 experiments will deliver benefits to people on Earth as well as prepare for future space exploration.
Credits: ESA - S. Corvaja
ExoMars is a joint endeavour between ESA and Roscosmos. The rover is part of the 2020 mission, landing on Mars with a surface science platform in 2021.
Credits: ESA - S. Corvaja
Ahead of Asteroid Day, the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over the Meteor Crater, also known as the Barringer Meteorite Crater.
Around 50 000 years ago, an iron-nickel meteorite, estimated to be 30-50 m wide, smashed into North America and left a massive hole in what is today known as Arizona. The violent impact created a bowl-shaped hole of over 1200 m across and 180 m deep in what was once a flat, rocky plain.
During its formation, millions of tonnes of limestone and sandstone were blasted out of the crater, covering the ground for over a kilometre in every direction with a blanket of debris. Large blocks of limestone, the size of small houses, were thrown onto the rim.
One of the crater’s main features is its squared-off shape, which is believed to be caused by flaws in the rock which caused it to peel back in four directions upon impact.
The wide perspective of this image shows the crater in context with the surrounding area. The impact occurred during the last ice age, when the plain around it was covered with a forest where mammoths and giant sloths grazed.
Over time, the climate changed and dried. The desert that we see today has helped preserve the crater by limiting its erosion, which makes it an excellent place to learn about the process of impact cratering.
Impact craters are inevitably part of being a rocky planet. They occur on every planetary body in our solar system – no matter the size. By studying impact craters and the meteorites that cause them, we can learn more about the processes and geology that shape our entire solar system.
Over the past two decades, ESA has tracked and analysed asteroids that travel close to Earth. ESA’s upcoming Flyeye telescopes will survey the sky for these near-Earth objects, using a unique compound eye design to capture wide-field images, which will enhance the detection of potentially hazardous asteroids.
ESA’s Hera spacecraft, launching later this year, will closely explore asteroids and improve our understanding of these celestial bodies and help us better prepare for potential future asteroid deflection efforts.
Credits: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2024), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
The first Meteosat Third Generation Imager (MTG-I1) satellite lifted off on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on 13 December at 21:30 CET.
To celebrate this moment, an event with experts took place at ESA's technical heart in the Netherlands.
MTG-I1 is the first of six satellites that form the full MTG system, which will provide critical data for weather forecasting over the next 20 years. In full operations, the mission will comprise two MTG-I satellites and one MTG Sounding (MTG-S) satellites working in tandem.
Credits: ESA - SJM Photography