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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 JANUS camera onboard ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) is designed to take detailed, high-resolution photos of Jupiter and its icy moons.
JANUS will study global, regional and local features and processes on the moons, as well as map the clouds of Jupiter. It will have a resolution up to 2.4 m on Ganymede and about 10 km at Jupiter.
This image of planet Earth was taken during Juice’s lunar-Earth flyby. It covers a small patch of the Pacific Ocean close to the Philippines.
The main aim of JANUS’s observations during the lunar-Earth flyby was to evaluate how well the instrument is working, not to perform scientific measurements.
Credits: ESA/Juice/JANUS; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
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)
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
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
What do you know about the Moon? This set of infographics illustrates the most frequently asked questions and facts about Earth’s natural satellite.
ESA is teaming up with international partners to explore the Moon as a destination for both robotic missions and human explorers.
Orion, the NASA spacecraft, will bring humans farther than they have ever been before relying on the European Service Module to return humans to the Moon and take advantage of the new technology for human space transportation. ESA is providing service modules that will provide propulsion, life support, power, air and water, and control the temperature in the crew module.
Luna-Resurs is a partnership with the Russian agency Roscosmos that will carry European technology to land precisely and safely on the Moon and to drill into the surface to extract and analyse samples of the lunar terrain.
The Agency is looking at how we could extract and process local resources into useful products and services, such as drinkable water or breathable oxygen on the Moon.
The Heracles mission could take of in 2028 to allow us to gain knowledge on human-robotic interaction while landing a spacecraft on the Moon to collect samples with a rover operated from an orbiting lunar gateway and send the samples back to Earth.
Credits: ESA
Rollout of Galileo L14 Ariane 6 A62 flight VA266 at the Ariane 6 launch complex (ELA-4) at Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana on 16 December 2025.
Credits: ESA - M. Pédoussaut
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 sunlit part of Mercury comes into view at the top right of this image, taken at 23:54 CEST on 4 September 2024 as the ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission sped by for its fourth of six gravity assist manoeuvres at the planet.
The image was captured by the Mercury Transfer Module’s monitoring camera 3 (M-CAM 3), when the spacecraft was about 555 km from the planet’s surface. The spacecraft’s closest approach of 165 km took place at 23:48 CEST.
The surface of Mercury hosts many fascinating geological features. Of special note is the Stoddart peak ring basin: a mysterious 155-km wide impact crater that had no name, until last month.
When the BepiColombo M-CAM team were planning for this flyby, they realised that this crater would be visible and decided it would be worth naming due to its potential interest for BepiColombo scientists in the future.
Following a request from the M-CAM team, the ancient crater was recently assigned the name Stoddart by the International Astronomical Union’s Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature, after Margaret Olrog Stoddart (1865–1934), an artist from New Zealand known for her flower paintings.
The back of the Mercury Planetary Orbiter’s high-gain antenna and part of the spacecraft’s body are also visible in front of Mercury in this image. Mercury Planetary Orbiter is one of two orbiters that will separate from the carrier spacecraft following arrival in orbit around Mercury.
North is to the upper left.
More about BepiColombo's fourth Mercury flyby
[Image description: Planet Mercury in the background with its grey, cratered, pock-marked surface. In the foreground are some spacecraft parts]
Credits: ESA/BepiColombo/MTM; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
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
The crew of Soyuz MS-13 is officially approved for launch following the final pre-launch State Commission meeting and press conference in Baikonur, Kazakhstan.
All three crewmembers have trained extensively for their mission to the International Space Station. The State Commission meeting is the culmination of this training, where senior spaceflight officials review and certify crewmembers for flight.
ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano, NASA astronaut Drew Morgan and Roscosmos cosmonaut and Soyuz commander Alexander Skvortsov will be launched in their Soyuz MS-13 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Saturday 20 July. This date coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing and marks the start of Luca’s second space mission known as ‘Beyond’.
While in orbit, Luca will support over 50 European experiments and more than 200 international experiments. He is also expected to perform a number of spacewalks to repair the cooling systems of dark matter hunter, AMS-02.
More information about Luca’s Beyond mission is available on the blog. This will be updated throughout his mission, with updates also shared on Twitter via @esaspaceflight.
Credits: ESA - S. Corvaja
Nicknamed ‘the COSMOS-Web Ring’, this lensing system contains a massive elliptical galaxy that acts as the gravitational lens and a more distant star-forming galaxy whose light has been stretched into a perfect circle. The lensed galaxy gives us a glimpse of galactic life when the Universe was just over a billion years old.
This gravitational lens is one of eight featured in the September 2025 Picture of the Month.
[Image Description: This image shows a deep galaxy field as seen by Webb, with a distinct gravitational lens at the centre. A central glowing galaxy in the foreground has a distorted background galaxy, in orange and blue hues, surrounding it in a circular shape.]
Credits: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, G. Gozaliasl, A. Koekemoer, M. Franco; CC BY 4.0
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
Reaching a major milestone, engineers have connected successfully the two halves of the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope for the first time at Northrop Grumman’s facilities in Redondo Beach, California. Once it reaches space, Webb will explore the cosmos using infrared light, from planets and moons within our Solar System to the most ancient and distant galaxies.
To combine both halves of Webb, engineers carefully lifted the telescope (which includes the mirrors and science instruments) above the already-combined sunshield and spacecraft using a crane. Team members slowly guided the telescope into place, ensuring that all primary points of contact were perfectly aligned and seated properly. The observatory has been mechanically connected; next steps will be to electrically connect the halves, and then test the electrical connections.
Later, engineers will fully deploy the intricate five-layer sunshield, which is designed to keep Webb's mirrors and scientific instruments cold by blocking infrared light from Earth, the Moon and Sun. The ability of the sunshield to deploy to its correct shape is critical to mission success.
Webb is scheduled for launch on a European Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana in March 2021.
The James Webb Space Telescope is an international project led by NASA with its partners, ESA and the Canadian Space Agency. As part of its contribution to the project, ESA provides the NIRSpec instrument, the Optical Bench Assembly of the MIRI instrument, the Ariane 5 launcher, and staff to support mission operations at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, USA.
Read more about the assembly of the two halves
Credits: NASA/Chris Gunn
On 17 December at 05:01 GMT (06:01 CET), two new Galileo satellites lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana aboard an Ariane 6 rocket. This marked the 14th launch for Europe’s satellite navigation operational satellite programme, reinforcing Europe’s resilience and autonomy.
The flight, designated VA266, was the first launch of Galileo satellites on Europe’s newest heavy-lift launcher Ariane 6.
The European Space Agency (ESA) is responsible for carrying out the Galileo launch with Arianespace on behalf of the European Commission. The Galileo satellites were manufactured by OHB, under contract with ESA. Once in orbit, the EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) will bring the satellites into service and oversee their operation.
Credits: ESA - S. Corvaja
This side-by-side comparison of galaxy cluster MACS0416 as seen by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope in optical light (left) and the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope in infrared light (right) reveals different details. Both images feature hundreds of galaxies, however the Webb image shows galaxies that are invisible or only barely visible in the Hubble image. This is because Webb’s infrared vision can detect galaxies too distant or dusty for Hubble to see. Light from distant galaxies is redshifted due to the expansion of the Universe.
[Image description: Two side-by-side photos of the same region of space. The left image is labelled “HST” and the right image “JWST.” In the middle of both, stretching from left to right, is a collection of dozens of yellowish spiral and elliptical galaxies that form a foreground galaxy cluster. A variety of galaxies of various shapes are scattered across the image, making it feel densely populated. The JWST image contains a number of red galaxies that are invisible or only barely visible in the HST image.]
Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI
Major elements of the Ariane 5 rocket to launch the James Webb Space Telescope arrived safely in Kourou, French Guiana from Europe on 3 September 2021.
The rocket’s fairing, upper stage and core stage have been unloaded from the MN Toucan vessel at Pariacabo harbour and transported by special convoy to Europe’s Spaceport about 3 km away from the wharf.
Webb will be stowed folded inside the fairing built by RUAG Space in Emmen, Switzerland. This ogive-shaped fairing at the top of Ariane 5 is 5.4 m in diameter and over 17 m high. Made of carbon fibre-polymer composite, this structure will protect Webb from the thermal, acoustic, and aerodynamic stresses at liftoff on the ascent to space.
Ariane 5’s upper stage is built by ArianeGroup in Bremen, Germany. It gives Ariane 5 the flexibility to deploy scientific payloads to a highly precise second Lagrangian injection orbit. Its HM7B engine burns 14.7 t of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen propellant to deliver 6.6 t of thrust. It provides attitude control during the ascent and the separation of Webb. The Vehicle Equipment Bay, ‘the brain’, autonomously controls the whole vehicle and transmits all key flight parameters to the ground station network.
The cryogenic core stage, built by ArianeGroup in France, is 5.4 m diameter and 30.5 m long and unfuelled weighs more than 14 tonnes. At liftoff, its Vulcain 2 engine burns 175 t of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen propellants to provide 140 t of thrust. It also provides roll control during the main propulsion phase.
At Europe’s Spaceport these Ariane 5 parts will be checked and prepared for assembly and integration before the mating of Webb on its top.
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.
Credits: ESA/CNES/Arianespace
This stereoscopic image shows in 3D a slice of Mars that has been imaged to mark a milestone for ESA’s Mars Express: its 25 000th orbit around the Red Planet. It was generated from data captured by the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on ESA’s Mars Express orbiter on 19 October 2023. The anaglyph offers a three-dimensional view when viewed using red-green or red-blue glasses.
Credits: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
Europe’s newest rocket, Ariane 6, took flight for the second time from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana at 13:24 local time on 6 March (16:24 GMT, 17:24 CET).
This was the first commercial flight for Ariane 6, flight VA263, delivering the CSO-3 satellite to orbit. Arianespace was the operator and launch service provider for the French Procurement agency (DGA) and France’s space agency CNES on behalf of the French Air and Space Force’s Space Command (CDE).
During this second launch, all phases were successfully executed, including the Auxiliary Propulsion Unit (APU) reignition, the Vinci engine’s third boost and deorbiting of the upper stage.
Ariane 6 is Europe’s heavy launcher and a key element of ESA’s efforts to ensure autonomous access to space for Europe’s citizens. Its modular and versatile design allows it to launch all missions from low-Earth orbit into deep space. For this launch, the rocket was used in its two-booster configuration.
Shortly after liftoff and booster separation, the upper stage separated from the core stage. The upper stage engine then fired for the first time, taking Ariane 6 into an elliptical orbit travelling 300 km at its closest to Earth, and 600 km at its farthest from Earth, achieving the ‘chill-down’ and first ignition of the Vinci engine and of the Auxiliary Propulsion Unit. After a ‘coasting’ phase lasting 37 minutes, the engine fired up for a second time.
After Vinci’s second boost, the rocket’s passenger, a French satellite called CSO-3, was injected into Sun-Synchronous Orbit at an altitude of around 800 km. Spacecraft separation occurred one hour and six minutes after liftoff.
After the successful delivery of CSO-3, Ariane 6 demonstrated the full potential of its upper stage. The Auxiliary Propulsion Unit ignited as expected, and the Vinci engine’s third boost put the upper stage into a reentry orbit to safely burn up through Earth’s atmosphere, preventing accumulation of space debris. This confirms the full capability of Ariane 6.
Credits: ESA-S. Corvaja
ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer and NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn and Kayla Barron move through the steps for their upcoming launch during a dry dress rehearsal at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA.
As members of Crew-3, they will be launched to the International Space Station on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft “Endurance”. The first launch attempt is scheduled for 07:21 CET (06:21 GMT, 02:21 EDT) Sunday 31 October 2021, with a backup date of 3 November.
This will be the first spaceflight for Matthias who has selected the name “Cosmic Kiss” for his six months in orbit. During the flight to and from space, he and Kayla will be what is known as “mission specialists”. They will work with commander Raja Chari and pilot Tom Marshburn to monitor the spacecraft during the dynamic launch and re-entry phases of flight.
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.
Matthias is the second European to fly on a SpaceX Crew Dragon. The first was ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet who flew as part of Crew-2.
Visit the Cosmic Kiss mission page for more information about Matthias’s mission.
Credits: ESA - S. Corvaja