ESA

Philae Found

Webb captures iconic Horsehead Nebula in unprecedented detail

The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has captured the sharpest infrared images to date of one of the most distinctive objects in our skies, the Horsehead Nebula. These observations show a part of the iconic nebula in a whole new light, capturing its complexity with unprecedented spatial resolution.

Europe’s next-generation weather satellite sends back first images

The first images from the Meteosat Third Generation-Sounder satellite have been shared at the European Space Conference in Brussels, showing how the mission will provide data on temperature and humidity, for more accurate weather forecasting over Europe and northern Africa.

Webb and Hubble confirm Universe's expansion rate

Webb measurements shed new light on a decade-long mysteryThe rate at which the Universe is expanding, known as the Hubble constant, is one of the fundamental parameters for understanding the evolution and ultimate fate of the cosmos. However, a persistent difference, called the Hubble Tension, is seen between the…

First firing of air-breathing electric thruster

All 12 moonwalkers had "lunar hay fever" from dust smelling like gunpowder (2018)

When the Apollo astronauts returned from the Moon, the dust that clung to their spacesuits made their throats sore and their eyes water. Lunar dust is made of sharp, abrasive and nasty particles, but how toxic is it for humans?

Euclid's First Images

Euclid, our dark Universe detective, has a difficult task: to investigate how dark matter and dark energy have made our Universe look like it does today. 95% of our cosmos ...

Welcome to a comet

Webb placed on top of Ariane 5

On Saturday 11 December, the James Webb Space Telescope was placed on top of the Ariane 5 rocket that will launch it to space from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.

Three hours to save Integral spacecraft

On 22 September, around midday, ESA’s Integral spacecraft went into emergency Safe Mode. One of the spacecraft’s three active ‘reaction wheels’ had turned off without warning and stopped spinning, causing a ripple effect that meant the satellite itself began to rotate.

Rosetta: ESA’s ‘sleeping beauty’ wakes up from deep space hibernation

Turn your phone into a space monitoring tool

Europe's new heavy-lift rocket, Ariane 6, made its inaugural flight

Europe's new heavy-lift rocket, Ariane 6, made its inaugural flight from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana at 16:00 local time on 9 July (20:00 BST, 21:00 CEST).

ESA’s Juice lifts off on quest to discover secrets of Jupiter’s icy moons

ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) lifted off on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana at 14:14 CEST on 14 April. The successful launch marks the beginning of an ambitious voyage to uncover the secrets of the ocean worlds around giant planet Jupiter.

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter views Schiaparelli landing site

Solar Orbiter gets world-first views of the Sun's poles

Thanks to its newly tilted orbit around the Sun, the European Space Agency-led Solar Orbiter spacecraft is the first to image the Sun’s poles from outside the ecliptic plane. Solar Orbiter’s unique viewing angle will change our understanding of the Sun’s magnetic field, the solar cycle and the workings of space…

Ozone hole goes large again

Measurements from the Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite show that this year’s ozone hole over Antarctica is one of the biggest on record. The hole, which is what scientists call an ‘ozone depleting area,’ reached a size of 26 million sq km on 16 September 2023. This is roughly three times the size of Brazil.

Why does it take so long to get to Mercury?

Earth is on average ten times closer to Mercury than Jupiter, but missions to both planets can take a similar amount of time to reach their science orbits. Why is that?

Rosetta finds comet's water vapour to be significantly different from Earth's

Swarm satellites probe weakening of Earth’s magnetic field

Schiaparelli landing investigation makes progress

Monitoring marine litter from space

Every 60 seconds the equivalent of a lorry-load of plastic enters the global ocean. Where it goes after that remains largely unknown. But a new ESA Discovery study reported in Nature Communications has proven the concept of monitoring floating plastic litter using satellites.

Full ignition for ESA’s reusable rocket engine

Work to develop a reusable engine for European rockets is progressing, with full ignition of an early prototype of Prometheus. These images were taken on 22 June 2023 at ArianeGroup’s test facility in Vernon, France during a 12-second burn.

Webb flies Ariane 5: watch the launch live on 25 December

Update 22 December (22.00 CET): launch confirmed for 25 DecemberUpdate 21 December (22.30 CET): new target launch dateESA and NASA will be broadcasting live as the James Webb Space Telescope is launched to space on ESA’s Ariane 5 from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana at 12:20 GMT / 13:20 CET on Saturday 25 December.

Juice’s RIME antenna successfully unjammed

More than three weeks after efforts began to deploy Juice’s ice-penetrating Radar for Icy Moon Exploration (RIME) antenna, the 16-metre-long boom has finally escaped its mounting bracket.

Earth’s Atmosphere Stretches Out to the Moon and Beyond

World-first gigabit laser link between aircraft and geostationary satellite

Faster, more secure connections from space could one day make broadband on planes, ships and even remote roads as easy as turning on a light. The European Space Agency (ESA), Airbus Defence and Space, the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) and German payload manufacturer TESAT (as…

Ice loss from Greenland and Antarctica hits new record

A report, released today, states that ice loss from Greenland and Antarctica has increased fivefold since the 1990s, and now accounts for a quarter of sea-level rise.

BepiColombo’s First Views of Mercury

The ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission has captured its first views of its destination planet Mercury as it swooped past in a close gravity assist flyby last night.

Webb confirms its first exoplanet

Researchers have confirmed the presence of an exoplanet, a planet that orbits another star, using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope for the first time. Formally classified as LHS 475 b, the planet is almost exactly the same size as our own, clocking in at 99% of Earth’s diameter.