Amateur astronomers around the world are being asked to help the proposed ESA asteroid mission. As well as exploring its final destination – the Didymos binary asteroid system – the Hera spacecraft could potentially fly past one or more bodies on the way. But the mission team require additional observations to help select their targets. […]
ESA’s ESTEC Test Centre in the Netherlands has completed its initial test campaign for the future of European weather forecasting – MetOp Second Generation. To source
How space can boost smart city life was highlighted at two international conferences held last week. Some 25 000 people from 700 cities in 140 countries attended the events, where ESA showcased the work of dozens of the companies it is working with on smart city projects. To source
Image: The first map of the global geology of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, has been completed, revealing a dynamic world with dunes, lakes, plains, craters and other terrains. The map is based on data from the international Cassini mission, which performed more than 120 flybys of Titan during its time at the Saturn system, between […]
The odds are high that you have already interacted with one of ESA’s most-far-reaching inventions without realising it. Terahertz security cameras – currently employed in 18 countries including many major airports and the LA Metro – scan passengers for concealed weapons or contraband in their clothing from up to 10 metres away, operating on an […]
Discover our week through the lens (18-22 November 2019). To source
Image: Hera is a candidate ESA mission be presented to ESA’s Space19+ meeting next week as part of the Agency’s Space Safety programme, where Europe’s space ministers will take a final decision on flying it. If approved, Hera that will be humankind’s first probe to rendezvous with a binary asteroid system, Didymos. The larger of […]
Image: Ahead of next week’s ‘Space19+’ Ministerial Council, the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over Seville in southern Spain – the destination for this milestone event. On 27–28 November, Ministers from ESA’s Member States along with Associate Member Slovenia and Cooperating State Canada will meet in Seville for the ESA Council at Ministerial Level Space19+ […]
Video: 00:02:39 In this week’s edition of the Earth from Space programme, the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over Seville in southern Spain, where ESA’s next Ministerial Council will soon take place. See also Seville, Spain to download the image. To source
Image: The Aurora, seen here dancing above Svalbard in Norway, is the most beautiful result of space weather on Earth. The lights, most commonly found at polar regions, are totally benign, but they signify something serious happening at Earth. Space weather describes the ever-changing conditions in space, caused by intense radiation and colossal amounts of energetic material […]
ESA’s mission to the Sun has been unpacked following its arrival in Florida earlier this month, ready to begin pre-launch testing and checks. To source
ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano took command of a rover in the Netherlands on Monday and expertly drove it over an obstacle course to collect a rock from a sampling site– all while circling our planet at 28 800 km/h on the International Space Station. To source
ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano will take the lead spacewalking role yet again on 22 November as he and NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan go beyond the International Space Station airlock to service the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer AMS-02. To source