Space News & Blog Articles

Image: Webb admires bejewelled ring

Image: Eye test for lunar impact surveyor

A network of ground stations around the world, including two owned by ESA, will track the debut flight of Europe’s new Ariane 6 rocket. They will monitor key phases of the flight and gather telemetry and video that will be used to analyse the rocket’s performance and optimise future launches.

Thousands of visitors flocked to ESA’s establishment in the UK last Saturday to experience first-hand how the agency is pushing the boundaries of exploration and using space to improve life on Earth.

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Space weather can affect satellites in orbit, trigger geomagnetic storms on Earth and interfere with ground infrastructure. We need to understand it better, and the best way to do that is look at where it comes from. 

A fascinating feature takes centre stage in this new image from ESA’s Mars Express: a dark, uneven scar slicing through marbled ground at the foot of a giant volcano.

Artificial intelligence technologies have achieved remarkable successes and continue to show their value as backbones in scientific research and real-world applications.

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Australian Space Agency astronaut candidate Katherine Bennell-Pegg joined ESA’s astronaut candidates from the class of 2022 for basic training through a cooperation agreement with ESA. Tune in as she shares her experiences in astronaut training, her favourite lessons, and what keeps her inspired on her journey to the stars!

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Have you ever wondered what an impact crater looks like from space? Today, we’re counting down some of our favourite impact craters here on Earth – captured by Earth-observing satellites.

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On 20 June 2024 the first Ariane 6 rocket to launch into space went through its last full ‘wet dress rehearsal’ at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana – it provided an exciting sneak peek of what’s to come, stopping just a few seconds before engine ignition and of course, liftoff.

Week in images: 24-28 June 2024

Take off with ESA Impact! Ariane 6 and astronaut news await

Image: Ahead of Asteroid Day, the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over the Meteor Crater, also known as the Barringer Meteorite Crater.

ESA’s Hera mission is due to launch in October this year on a quest to survey the Didymos binary asteroid system and study the results of the first-ever test of asteroid deflection.

The two Proba-3 satellites were set facing each other across a cleanroom as cameras, LEDs, a laser and shadow sensors were activated in turn, testing the systems that will let the pair sense their precise positions relative to each other, allowing them to line up precisely in orbit down to a single millimetre.

Less than a month after it was launched, ESA’s EarthCARE satellite has returned the first image from one of its instruments – an image that, for the first time from space, unveils the internal structure and dynamics of clouds.

Image: Proba-2’s glimpse of home

ESA scientists have been exploring how a future Moon base might be built from materials on the lunar surface. Inspired by LEGO building, they have used dust from a meteorite to 3D-print 'space bricks' to test the idea. ESA's space bricks are on display in selected LEGO Stores from 20 June to 20 September, helping to inspire the next generation of space engineers.