To the Milky Way’s Anticenter and Beyond: Gaia’s New Detailed Data From More Than 1.8 Billion Stars
The motion of stars in the outskirts of our galaxy hints at significant changes in the history of the Milky Way. This and other equally…
European Space Agency
Galileo Satellites Help Rescue Sailor in Solo Round-the-World Yacht Race After Raging Waves Pounded His Vessel Apart
A sailor in the Vendée Globe solo round-the-world yacht race faced disaster in the Southern Ocean as raging waves pounded his vessel apart. But he…
ClearSpace-1: Earth’s First Space Debris Removal Mission
ESA has signed an €86 million contract with an industrial team led by Swiss start-up ClearSpace SA to purchase a unique service: the first removal…
ExoMy: 3D Print, Assemble, and Program Your Own Mars Rover
Europe’s Rosalind Franklin ExoMars rover has a younger ’sibling’ – ExoMy. The blueprints and software for this mini-version of the full-size Mars explorer are available…
Hubble Space Telescope Captures a Vast Cosmic Wonderland
This large expanse of space captured with the Hubble Space Telescope features the galaxy SDSSJ225506.80+005839.9. Unlike many other extravagant galaxies and stunning nebulae imaged by…
Hit or Miss? Gigantic Iceberg Bears Down on South Georgia Island
An enormous iceberg, called A-68A, has made headlines over the past weeks as it drifts towards South Georgia in the Southern Ocean. New images, captured…
Connecting Earth With the Moon: Lunar Satellites
Since time immemorial, people have gazed in wonder at the Moon. Its gentle light suggests romance, its strong embrace powers the tides and it is…
Turning Lunar Dust Into Oxygen – And Using the Leftovers to 3D Print a Moon Base
British engineers are fine-tuning a process that will be used to extract oxygen from lunar dust, leaving behind metal powders that could be 3D printed…
Exploring Earth From Space: Vandenberg Air Force Base, California [Video]
The Vandenberg Air Force Base, in California, US, where the Copernicus Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite will soon launch from, is featured in this image captured…
Move Over Plastic: Desktop 3D Printing in Metal and Ceramics
These spur gears – seen in the image above with a euro cent coin for scale – have been produced in stainless steel to a…
Mysterious Dark Rays Spotted in Nearby Galaxy
Some of the most stunning views of our sky occur at sunset, when sunlight pierces the clouds, creating a mixture of bright and dark rays…
Copernicus Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich Poised for Liftoff
With liftoff set for today at 17:17 GMT (18:17 CET, 09:17 PST), the Copernicus Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite is poised for liftoff – atop a…
Watch Live: Copernicus Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich Launch
Watch the launch of the Copernicus Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich ocean-monitoring satellite on ESA Web TV on Saturday, November 21 from 17:45 CET (08:45 PST). Also…
Vega VV17 Rocket Catastrophic Failure: Arianespace and ESA Appoint an Independent Inquiry Commission
On Tuesday, November 17, 2020, Arianespace announced the loss of the Vega VV17 mission, carrying two payloads: SEOSAT-Ingenio for ESA and TARANIS for the French…
Moonlight: Connecting Earth With the Moon [Video]
Lunar exploration relies on the extensive expertise that is on hand across ESA. As a new lunar economy emerges, it will create new opportunities involving…
Seosat-Ingenio: Preparing to Fly an Earth-Observing Genius
Update: Vega flight VV17 SEOSAT-Ingenio / TARANIS mission failure 8 minutes after liftoff of Vega mission VV17, following the first ignition of the engine of…
Shape-Shifting Space Mirror Enables Previously Impossible Missions
This bendable space mirror can have its shape shifted to compensate for manufacturing or alignment errors within orbital telescopes or temperature-driven distortions. Very large space…
Cosmic “Cinnamon Bun” Spotted by Hubble Space Telescope
Observed with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, the faint galaxy featured in this image is known as UGC 12588. Unlike many spiral galaxies, UGC 12588…