ESA’s Mars Express has captured an astonishing array of landforms emerging from a thick winter blanket of frost as spring arrives in the south polar region of Mars. Some of these features are surprisingly dark compared with their icy surroundings, earning their nickname of ‘cryptic terrain’.
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Sentinel-1C arrives in French Guiana
The Sentinel-1C satellite, the third satellite of the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission, has arrived at the European spaceport in French Guiana for liftoff on the Vega-C rocket at the end of 2024. The satellite will continue the critical task of delivering key radar imagery of Earth’s surface for a wide range of Copernicus services and scientific applications.
Five reasons to join the European Space Agency!
In 2023, ESA published more than 400 vacancies in engineering, science and business and administration and more positions continue to be published as we are always on the lookout for talented new colleagues to join us. So, what does it mean to join ESA? Here are five reasons why you should consider ESA as the next step in your career!
Record-breaking ancient spinning galaxy challenges cosmic evolution theories
Astronomers have discovered the most distant and, thus, earliest strongly rotating galaxy ever seen that is well-organized rather than chaotic and messy, challenging our theories of cosmic evolution.
The Open Star Cluster Westerlund 1, Seen by Webb
A long time ago, the Milky Way Galaxy was busy being a prodigious star-formation engine. In those times, it turned out dozens or hundreds of stars per year. These days, it’s rather more quiescent, cranking out only a few per year. Astronomers want to understand the Milky Way’s star-birth history, so they focus on some of the more recent star litters to study. One of them is Westerlund 1, a young so-called “super star cluster” that looks compact and contains a diverse array of older stars. It was part of a burst of star creation around 4 to 5 million years ago.
Can Rocket Lab come to NASA's rescue with new Mars sample-return plan?
In response to NASA's plea for help bringing the cost and complexity of its Mars sample-return program, Rocket Lab has won a contract to study a potential solution.
Dragon's-eye view: Astronaut captures amazing shots of Hurricane Milton from space (photos)
NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick snapped striking photos of the powerful Hurricane Milton through the window of a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, which is docked to the ISS.
Review: 'The Wild Robot' is a lyrical ode to planetary love and parenthood
A review of the new animated sci-fi feature film, "The Wild Robot."
SpaceX eyes Oct. 13 for next Starship launch, pending FAA approval
SpaceX is targeting as soon as Oct. 13 for the next launch of its Starship Super Heavy megarocket, but it all hinges on approval from the FAA, which says to expect the flight in "late November."
The sun fires off another powerful X flare, triggering radio blackouts across the Americas (video)
An X2.1 solar flare erupted from the prolific sunspot AR 3842 on Monday (Oct. 7), triggering radio blackout across North and South America.
The dazzling Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is emerging in the night sky: How to see it
Scientists are excited to begin capturing Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS as the object is expected to soon be very bright in the night sky.
US needs 'space rescue service' to help astronauts in distress, experts say
The lessons of Apollo, Skylab and the space shuttle appear to have been forgotten: The US needs a plan for how to deal with human spaceflight emergencies, experts say.
Prime Day telescope deal: Save 25% on the best budget model
The best overall budget telescope, the Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ, is 25% off and the lowest price this year for Prime Day.
'Alien: Romulus' leaps onto home video and streaming in 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD
"Alien: Romulus" will be released on digital on Oct. 15 and deluxe home video on Dec. 3.
Walmart has Prime Day beat with this Sony A7R V camera deal
Save more than $1000 on this incredible Sony snapper right now at Walmart.
Get $270 off this high-flying DJI Air 3 Fly More Combo drone bundle this Prime Day
Get $270 off this DJI Fly More Combo drone bundle.
TESS Finds a Triple Star System that Could Fit within Mercury’s Orbit
TESS, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite has been on the lookout for alien worlds since 2018. It has just hit the news again having identified an extreme triple star system where two stars orbit each other every 1.8 days. The third component circles them both in 25 days – this puts the entire system within the orbit of Mercury with a little wriggle room to spare! To visual observers, it looks like a single star but the power of TESS revealed a flicker as the stars line up and pass one another along our line of sight. Eventually, the two inner stars will merge, triggering a supernova event!
Moon vision
A camera destined for the Moon became part of the astronauts’ toolkit during ESA’s latest PANGAEA geology training in Lanzarote, Spain.
The JWST Reveals New Things About How Planetary Systems Form
Every second in the Universe, more than 3,000 new stars form as clouds of dust and gas undergo gravitational collapse. Afterward, the remaining dust and gas settle into a swirling disk that feeds the star’s growth and eventually accretes to form planets – otherwise known as a protoplanetary disk. While this model, known as the Nebular Hypothesis, is the most widely accepted theory, the exact processes that give rise to stars and planetary systems are not yet fully understood. Shedding light on these processes is one of the many objectives of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).
China Unveils its Lunar Spacesuit
China have a roadmap to sent astronauts to the Moon in 2030 and when they do, they are going with a very definite nod to the Chinese origins to the rocket! Their officials have unveiled the new look Chinese space suit with all the mod cons but with a design that is somewhat reminiscent of Chinese armour. There will some fabulous features like the close and long distance field of view visor, a chest control panel and a protective material to shield against the harmful lunar environment.
Satellite images capture Hurricane Milton intensifying into Category 5 storm (videos)
Just 10 days after Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida, Hurricane Milton is headed to the U.S. state.
