Week in images: 02-06 September 2024 Discover our week through the lens To source
Archive | ESA
Mars rover trials
Video: 00:01:00 Rover trials in a quarry in the UK showing a four-wheeled rover, known as Codi, using its robotic arm and a powerful computer vision system to pick up sample tubes. The rover drives to the samples with an accuracy of 10cm, constantly mapping the terrain. Codi uses its arm and four cameras to […]
Debris from DART impact could reach Earth
In 2022 NASA’s DART spacecraft made history, and changed the Solar System forever, by impacting the Dimorphos asteroid and measurably shifting its orbit around the larger Didymos asteroid. In the process a plume of debris was thrown out into space. The latest modelling, available on the preprint server arXiv and accepted for publication in the September volume of The […]
First metal part 3D printed in space
Image: ESA’s Metal 3D Printer has produced the first metal part ever created in space. The technology demonstrator, built by Airbus and its partners, was launched to the International Space Station at the start of this year, where ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen installed the payload in the European Drawer Rack of ESA’s Columbus module. In […]
Earth from Space: Sentinel-2 captures Sentinel-2
Image: The Copernicus Sentinel-2B satellite captured this image over Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on 2 September, just ahead of the Sentinel-2C launch. To source
New Galileo satellites operational after successful in-orbit testing
The two new Galileo satellites launched in April have entered service, completing the second of three constellation planes. With every addition to the constellation, the precision, availability and robustness of the Galileo signal is improved. The next launch is planned in the coming weeks and the remaining six Galileo First Generation satellites will join the […]
BepiColombo's best images yet highlight fourth Mercury flyby
The ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission has successfully completed its fourth of six gravity assist flybys at Mercury, capturing images of two special impact craters as it uses the little planet’s gravity to steer itself on course to enter orbit around Mercury in November 2026. The closest approach took place at 23:48 CEST (21:48 UTC) on 4 […]
Sentinel-2C launch highlights
Video: 00:14:09 The Copernicus Sentinel-2C satellite lifted off on 5 September at 03:50 CEST (4 September 22:50 local time) aboard the last Vega rocket, flight VV24, from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. Sentinel-2C will continue the legacy of delivering high-resolution data that are essential to Copernicus – the Earth observation component of the EU Space […]
Sentinel-2C joins the Copernicus family in orbit
The third Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite launched today aboard the final Vega rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. Sentinel-2C will continue providing high-resolution data that is essential to Copernicus – Europe’s world leading Earth observation programme. Sentinel-2C launched into orbit on 5 September at 03:50 CEST (4 September 22:50 local time) and separated from the […]
European greenhouse gas emissions decline but land stores weaken
According to recent research, Europe’s net greenhouse gas emissions have decreased by around 25% since the 1990s. While this is good news, the study also revealed a weakening in the capacity of land and vegetation to absorb and store atmospheric carbon. To source
Juice's flight through Earth's radiation belts
Image: During its recent flyby of Earth , ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice ) travelled through the zones of charged particles that surround our planet. These two zones are known as the Van Allen radiation belts . The inner belt is mostly full of energetic protons, and the outer belt is mostly full of energetic electrons. The region between the two belts is mostly empty. The high levels of radiation in […]
Opportunities with ESA at Big Science Business Forum 2024
ESA is part of the Big Science Business Forum 2024 event on 1–4 October in Trieste, Italy. This is where industry and Europe’s leading science organisations, research infrastructures and their collaborators will meet to inform, network and discuss business opportunities in a market valued at nearly €10 billion annually. To source
Sentinel-2C operators complete final rehearsals
ESA mission controllers have completed the final phase of their simulation training for the critical launch and early orbit phase , confirming that everything is ready for the launch of Sentinel-2C. To source