Archive | Science

ESA and Airbus Defence & Space celebrate the industrial contract for building the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, Juice To source

Two European instruments and four European contributions on two Russian instruments have been selected for the Russian-led science platform that will land on Mars as part of the ESA–Roscosmos ExoMars 2018 mission. To source

LISA Pathfinder, ESA’s technology demonstrator for detecting gravitational-waves, is set for launch on 2 December at 04:15 GMT (05:15 CET) on a Vega rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Media representatives can follow the launch online and attend the event in ESA’s operations centre, ESOC, in Darmstadt, Germany. To source

The ESA–Roscosmos ExoMars 2016 spacecraft are ready to depart Europe for the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, to prepare for their launch in March.   Members of the media are invited to join ExoMars scientists and engineers from ESA, Roscosmos and Thales Alenia Space in Cannes, France on 25 November for a final glimpse of the ExoMars […]

A local cosmic celebrity was recently pictured among the multitude of stars and Solar System bodies surveyed by ESA’s Gaia satellite: Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, currently accompanied by another ESA spacecraft, Rosetta. To source

ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft has made the first in situ detection of oxygen molecules outgassing from a comet, a surprising observation that suggests they were incorporated into the comet during its formation. To source

News, images and updates about ESA’s technology demonstrator, making the first steps to observing gravitational waves from space To source

Two comets collided at low speed in the early Solar System to give rise to the distinctive ‘rubber duck’ shape of Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, say Rosetta scientists. To source

Spectacular new images of the Veil Nebula from Hubble To source

Space Science Image of the Week: This whirling mix of galaxy arms, bright cores and shining blue gas makes up Arp 194, a turbulent galaxy group in Ursa Major To source

Planck portrays stellar birth and magnetic turbulence in the Orion Molecular Cloud To source

A complex network of isolated hills, ridges and small basins spanning 1400 km on Mars is thought to hide large quantities of water-ice. To source

The UK-led Beagle-2 Mars lander, which hitched a ride on ESA’s Mars Express mission and was lost on Mars since 2003, has been found in images taken by a NASA orbiter at the Red Planet. To source