An educational in-flight call with ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti on board the International Space Station for teachers and students in Europe, connecting live with local events organised by ESERO Italy, ESERO Portugal and ESERO Luxembourg.
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We are Europe’s gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
One of the surprising discoveries coming out of Gaia data release 3, is that Gaia is able to detect starquakes – tiny motions on the surface of a star – that change the shapes of stars, something the observatory was not originally built for.
Previously, Gaia already found radial oscillations that cause stars to swell and shrink periodically, while keeping their spherical shape. But Gaia has now also spotted other vibrations that are more like large-scale tsunamis. These nonradial oscillations change the global shape of a star and are therefore harder to detect.
Nonradial oscillation modes cause a star’s surface to move while it rotates, as shown in the animation. Dark patches are slightly cooler than bright patches, giving rise to periodic changes in the brightness of the star. The frequency of the rotating and pulsating stars was increased 8.6 million times to shift them into the audible range of humans.
Credit: ESA/Gaia/DPAC, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO. Acknowledgement: Animation and sonification were created by: Dr. Joey Mombarg, KU Leuven, Belgium. Based on information from Gaia Data Release 3: Pulsations in main-sequence OBAF stars as observed by Gaia by the Gaia Collaboration, De Ridder et al., 2022, submitted to A&A. Van Reeth et al. 2015, ApJS 218, id.2, 32 pp. Mombarg et al. 2021, A&A 650, id.A58, 23 pp.
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We are Europe’s gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
NASA will release the first full-color images and data from the James Webb Space Telescope on July 12. These images will demonstrate Webb’s capability to unfold the universe and provide views of the cosmos that humanity has never seen before. What questions do you have about these historic images?
Join Webb experts for a conversation where you can interact in real time. Have questions you want answered in Spanish? Tune in to a live Q&A at 1 p.m. EDT (17:00 UTC) on the NASA en español Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages:
Since its launch in 2013 ESA’s Gaia observatory has been mapping our galaxy from Lagrange point 2, creating the most accurate and complete multi-dimensional map of the Milky Way. By now two full sets of data have been released, the first set in 2016 and a second one in 2018. These data releases contained stellar positions, distances, motions across the sky, and colour information, among others. Now on 13 June 2022 a third and new full data set will be released. This data release will contain even more and improved information about almost 2 billion stars, Solar System objects and extragalactic sources. It also includes radial velocities for 33 million stars, a five-time increase compared to data release 2. Another novelty in this data set is the largest catalogue yet of binary stars in the Milky Way, which is crucial to understand stellar evolution.
We are Europe’s gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
In this week’s edition of the Earth from Space programme, the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission takes us over Singapore, the only city-island-nation and one of the busiest ports in the world.
We are Europe’s gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
This animated preview of flight VV21 illustrates gantry rollout and liftoff from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, stage and fairing separations, and deployment of the Italian Space Agency’s LARES-2 scientific payload and six research CubeSats. Vega-C represents a dramatic capability boost compared to its predecessor, Vega, which has flown since 2012. With new first and second stages and an uprated fourth stage, Vega-C increases performance from Vega’s 1.5 t to about 2.2 t in a reference 700 km polar orbit and handles larger payloads.
We are Europe’s gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
Satellite images of our planet have become essential to our survival, offering a new outlook of our world. With rising seas being one of the biggest threats to society, satellite altimeter missions such as Copernicus Sentinel-6 are essential in monitoring global and regional changes in sea level.
Unbeknown to many, the island of Crete, Greece, plays an important role in the Copernicus satellite altimetry constellation and on an international stage. Satellite altimetry data have to be continuously monitored at the ESA’s Permanent Facility for Altimetry Calibration where different techniques have pioneered the use of transponders to provide the best measurements to validate satellite altimeters in space soon after launch.
This documentary explains how measurements are taken from the top of the White Mountains to make sure users get the best data on sea height from satellite altimetry.
It features interviews with Craig Donlon, Head of ESA’s Earth Surfaces and Interior Earth and Mission Science Division and Stelios Mertikas, Director of Laboratory of Geodesy & Geomatics Engineering at the @Technical University of Crete.
We are Europe’s gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
We are Europe’s gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
Interview with ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer after the conclusion of his 177-day mission on the International Space Station. During his time in orbit, Matthias supported over 35 European experiments and even more international experiments on board. The outcomes of these experiments will advance our knowledge in areas ranging from human health to materials science, benefiting life on Earth and the future of space exploration. Other highlights included his spacewalk to improve and maintain the Space Station.
We are Europe’s gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
Earth’s oceans are huge heat stores, soaking up 93% of the excess heat from human activity over the past 70 years. Ocean currents redistribute heat around the planet, from the Equator to the poles. Where this ocean heat goes influences weather patterns and regional climate. As well as absorbing heat, oceans are a natural carbon sink, absorbing a quarter of carbon dioxide emissions from human activity. This has led to the acidification of ocean water, threatening marine life.
The amount of heat and carbon dioxide absorbed depends on a number of ocean variables, all of which can be measured from space.
We are Europe’s gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
ESA’s Juice mission has entered its final phase of development, with the spacecraft moving to an @Airbus Defence and Space facility in Toulouse, France, for the next round of testing. The spacecraft has been fully integrated, and these tests will be done in full flight configuration, as Juice is scheduled for launch from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, in April 2023.
The Juice mission is a perfect example of collaboration between several national space agencies and European industry. Its objective is to explore the gas giant Jupiter, its environment, and three of its moons: Europa, Callisto and Ganymede. By studying this planetary system, ESA hopes to learn more about the icy worlds around Jupiter and the origins and possibility of life in our Universe
We are Europe’s gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
This week’s edition of the Earth from Space programme features a Copernicus Sentinel-2 image of Bonn, one of the oldest cities in Germany, where ESA’s Living Planet Symposium 2022 (https://lps22.esa.int/frontend/index.php?folder_id=4254&page_id=) will take place on 23–27 May.
We are Europe’s gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
An informative and creative trip into lunar geology using a very special cheesecake recipe in the context of ESA’s Moon Bread recipe challenge. Planetary scientist and ESA Young Graduate Trainee Xiaochen Zhang explains how the Moon formed and evolved using live baking examples.
ESA invites all bakers to try out a special banana bread recipe that contains the main chemical elements found on the Moon. The social media initiative is set to heat up ovens across Europe in the countdown to the first Artemis mission to lunar orbit – one that gets its temperature and power under control by the European Service Module.
We are Europe’s gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
Solar Orbiter is a space mission of international collaboration between ESA and @NASA.
Solar Orbiter’s closest approach to the Sun, known as perihelion, took place on 26 March. The spacecraft was inside the orbit of Mercury, at about one-third the distance from the Sun to the Earth, and its heatshield was reaching around 500°C. But it dissipated that heat with its innovative technology to keep the spacecraft safe and functioning.
The Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) on the ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter spacecraft captured this movie on 17 March 2022. It shows the Sun’s appearance at a wavelength of 17 nanometers. This is an extreme ultraviolet wavelength of light that is emitted by the upper atmosphere of the Sun. Known as the corona, this layer of the Sun’s atmosphere exists at a temperature of around one million degrees. EUI takes both full disc images using the Full Sun Imager (FSI) telescope, as well as detailed images of a smaller region using the High Resolution Imager (HRIEUV) telescope.
On 17 March, Solar Orbiter was at roughly a third of the Earth’s distance from the Sun (0.378 AU), and heading for a close approach on 26 March, placing its payload closer to the Sun than any previous solar telescope.
This movie shows FSI’s view of the Sun before zooming in on an active region with HRIEUV. Active regions are where the Sun’s magnetic field bursts out from its interior in loops that rise into the atmosphere. As gas flows around the loops and cools back down on its way to the surface it creates the phenomenon called coronal rain.
Another intriguing feature of this image is the bright gas that makes delicate, lace-like patterns across the Sun. This is called coronal ‘moss’. It usually appears around the footprints, referred to by solar physicists as footpoints, of large coronal loops that are too hot to be seen in the EUI images.
The colour on this image has been artificially added because the original wavelength detected by the instrument is invisible to the human eye.
Credit: ESA & NASA/Solar Orbiter/EUI Team
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We are Europe’s gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
ESA invites all bakers to try out a special banana bread recipe courtesy of Sens’Astro that contains the main chemical elements found on the Moon with a social media challenge inspired by World Baking Day, celebrated on 17 May.
Bakers of all ages are invited to share their results with pictures or videos on social media using the hashtag #ESABakes. The deadline for pastry chefs to submit their cakes is 24 May 2022.
Here are the ingredients: – 3 bananas – 2 eggs – 1 yoghurt (125 ml) – 80 g wheat flour – 30 g oat flour – 40 g almond powder – 100 g chocolate chips – 2 tablespoons maple syrup – 1 teaspoon vanilla extract – 1 teaspoon baking powder – 1 pinch of salt – 1 handful of nuts
We are Europe’s gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
This week’s edition of the Earth from Space programme features a striking, high-resolution image of the Arc de Triomphe, in Paris, captured by Planet SkySat – a fleet of satellites that have just joined ESA’s Third Party Mission Programme.
We are Europe’s gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
This comparison between @NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope’s Infrared Array Camera and Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument shows a part of the Large Magellanic Cloud. A small satellite galaxy of the Milky Way providing a dense star field to test Webb’s performance.
We are Europe’s gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
How are space technologies such as earth observation, satellite communications, and navigation systems being applied to our greatest global challenges like climate change, deforestation and disaster resilience? Find out more in this Space Bites talk by David Taverner, Senior Director at Caribou Space.
David Taverner’s career has focused on using space, mobile, internet and renewable energy technology to address challenges in developing countries. Caribou Space works with governments, space agencies, development agencies and private companies – to use space technology for positive impact on society, economy and environment. David supports the UK Space Agency International Partnership Programme, a £150 million fund to use space technology to benefit developing countries. David has also supported ESA’s Earth Observation for Sustainable Development programme, helping define its future strategy and plan.
Space Bites is a series of lectures about space exploration promoted by the ESA Directorate of Human and Robotic Exploration in order to increase the awareness of the importance of space exploration.
Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the lecture was hosted online via video conference.
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We are Europe’s gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
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.
We are Europe’s gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
Dive into our navigation activities and hear about the projects, goals, challenges and work environment from ESA staff working in the Navigation Directorate and the Directorate for Technology, Engineering and Quality.
We are Europe’s gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
Crew Dragon capsule Endurance, carrying ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer and @NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Thomas Marshburn and Kayla Barron, undocked from the International Space Station at 06:20 BST/07:20 CEST Thursday 5 May. The autonomous undocking marked the start of Crew-3’s return to Earth after almost six months in orbit.
Crew-3’s return will take approximately 23.5 hours. Their spacecraft will splash down off the coast of Florida, USA, where ships will be waiting to bring it aboard and welcome the astronauts home.
This return also marks the end of Matthias’s first space mission, Cosmic Kiss. During his time on Station, Matthias supported over 35 European and many more international experiments in microgravity. He also supported International Space Station operations and maintenance and performed a spacewalk with NASA astronaut Raja Chari on 23 March 2022.
After initial medical checks, Crew-3 crew members will be transported by helicopter to shore where a plane will be waiting to bring Matthias back to ESA’s European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany, for his post-flight debriefings and rehabilitation.
We are Europe’s gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
For the first time since mid 2011, ESA has two astronauts living and working together aboard the International Space Station. Watch a conversation between Samantha Cristoforetti and Matthias Maurer in this rare moment for Europe in space.
The astronauts’ meeting marks a brief crossover between the start of Samantha’s second space mission, Minerva, and Matthias’s final days in orbit for his first mission, Cosmic Kiss.
Samantha arrived with Crew-4 on 28 April in @SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom, while Matthias will depart with Crew-3 in SpaceX Crew Dragon Endurance in May after almost six months on the Station.
In this video Matthias is impressed by Samantha’s floating ability and says it’s like she never left. Samantha confirms weightless was the thing she missed the most on Earth and talks about the differences on Station since her Italian Space Agency ASI-sponsored Futura mission in 2014-15.
Matthias is pleased with what he’s achieved in his time on Station, including the science he’s supported and the spacewalk he performed. He wishes Samantha all the best for her mission as she wishes him a safe return to Earth.
We are Europe’s gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
ESA Academy is ESA’s overarching programme for undergraduate to PhD level students. Through a tailored transfer of space know-how and interaction with space professionals, ESA Academy takes students through a learning path that enriches and complements their academic education. In this session, participants will be informed on the different opportunities, ranging from training courses to the manufacturing of satellites, and what it takes to participate in them. Finally, the presenters will provide some insight into the evolving, future, ESA Academy programme.
We are Europe’s gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
ESA has a number of programmes open to young professionals who are either still studying or have little to no work experience. Join this session to hear about what ESA has to offer. The programmes coordinator together with a few colleagues will share their insight and let you discover which path could lead to your future career!
We are Europe’s gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
We asked our followers on social media to send in questions they would like to ask the ESA HR Department. This is your opportunity to hear the answers first hand. Have fun learning more about careers and recruitment here at ESA!
0:00-0:21 Introduction 0:21-1:08 What does a typical job interview at ESA look like? 1:08-2:00 How many careers paths can one start at ESA? 2:00- 3:02 I’m a girl and my dream is to become an astronaut. Is this possible? 3:02- 3:27 Do you respond to all applications? 3:27-4:02 How long does an application usually take to process? 4:02-4:26 Any jobs for space enthusiasts over the age of 40? 4:26-5:33 Do you really accept all ages? 5:33-6:52 Can I get into ESA without a background in space? 6:52-8:12 I’m puzzled by the ESA pay scale, are salaries negotiable? 8:12-9:16 What skillset and qualifications does a successful ESA applicant possess? 9:16-10:08 What is your funniest interview experience? 10:08- 10:54 is it hard to get a job at ESA? 10:54-12:11 What kind of benefits do ESA staff get? 12:11-12:58 Anything like free massages? 12:58- 14:06 Why is a masters degree required? 14:06- 15:01 How do you filter candidates? 15:01- 16:17 Do unsuccessful applicants go into a careers black hole? 16:17-16:52 Join us at ESA!
We are Europe’s gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
Once the preparatory work has been completed, and the satellite developed and manufactured, the next step is launch and operations with a view to ensuring that it fulfils its original mission objectives. The post-launch phase can span many years, often as long or longer than the developmental phase. Some ESA scientific satellites even continue to operate beyond their original planned lifespan.
Join ESA experts working in launchers, operations, mission management and scientific data processing to find out what happens in the final phases of the mission when all the planning and development comes to fruition.
We are Europe’s gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
R&D plays a key role as part of ESA’s mission to share the development of Europe’s space capability and to keep European industry at the leading edge of technology development. Not only are new and innovative technologies constantly being developed and tested to pave the way for future satellite projects, but ESA is also facilitating their application to scientific and commercial products and services. And well before an individual satellite project can be started, ESA and its experts are hard at work preparing the way through feasibility studies and assessments.
Join ESA experts working in the Concurrent Design Facility, Phi-Lab and the ARTES Programme to hear about their contributions to the overall ESA mission.
We are Europe’s gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
