Space News & Blog Articles

Week in images: 04-08 September 2023

As of 1 September 2023, Sławosz Uznański joined ESA as a project astronaut anticipating flying on a future space mission.

ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen will film thunderstorms and lightning shooting up towards space as part of the climate science of the Huginn mission.

Image: Artificial star

Image: X-ray mission lifts off to study high-energy Universe

Scientists have used Solar Orbiter’s EUI camera in a new mode of operation to record part of the Sun’s atmosphere at extreme ultraviolet wavelengths that has been almost impossible to image until now. This new mode of operation was made possible with a last-minute ‘hack’ to the camera and will almost certainly influence new solar instruments for future missions. 

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On 5 September 2023, teams from France’s space agency CNES and Arianegroup under the lead of ESA carried out a complete Ariane 6 launch sequence on its launch pad at Europe’s spaceport in French Guiana. The test ended with a hot-fire of the launcher’s core stage and startup of the Vulcain 2.1 engine.

As quantum technology continues to shape our future, quantum entanglement remains a crucial element in unlocking valuable space applications, but how robust is it?

Take your chance to meet astronauts, view spacecraft and peer behind the scenes of Europe’s space adventure at our ESA Open Day at ESTEC in the Netherlands on Sunday 8 October. Registration is now open.

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Watch the replay of the media briefing and the question-and-answer session outlining the progress achieved and the upcoming steps in the Ariane 6 development test campaign. Updates are given on tests conducted at Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, and at the German Aerospace Center DLR’s technical centre in Lampoldshausen, Germany.

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On 1 September 2023 ESA’s all-new Ariane 6 launch vehicle fired its two upper stage engines to simulate the way they will have to operate together at German aerospace agency DLR’s engine test centre in Lampoldshausen, Germany. The test – of the new Vinci engine and a smaller Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) – took place on a purpose-built test bench.

Validation testing continues for ESA’s all-new Ariane 6 launch vehicle, with firing of its two upper stage engines to simulate the way they will have to operate together during a flight.

Week in images: 28 August - 01 September 2023

Image: Hera asteroid mission here

During his Huginn mission, ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen will run two experiments focusing on sleeping in space: Circadian Light and Sleep in Orbit.

Image: Chasing Chandrayaan and the super blue Moon

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Space exploration presents unique health challenges for astronauts due to lack of gravity, isolation, and radiation exposure. ESA's SciSpacE activities aim to comprehend these effects and their implications for human well-being during extended missions.

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Huginn, Andreas Mogensen's second mission to the International Space Station, is now underway. Together with Crew-7, the ESA astronaut launched aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft Endurance on 26 August 2023, at 09:27 CEST (08:27 BST).