Anyone with a computer can take the driver’s seat using this new NASA model of sea level rise and ice sheet melt.
Space technology to drive autonomous ships
ESA Director General Jan Wörner signed a Memorandum of Intent with Rolls-Royce today, as the two entities agree to investigate how space technology can be used to develop autonomous and remote-controlled ships.
Going green
Operations image of the week: ESA’s deep-space ground station at New Norcia, Western Australia, is now being powered in part by sunlight
Exoplanet Has Smothering Stratosphere Without Water
The massive exoplanet WASP-18b seems to have a smothering stratosphere loaded with carbon monoxide and devoid of water.
Sentinel-5P first results
Follow the Sentinel-5P First Light event live on 1 December, when the first images from this air-monitoring mission will be revealed. Streaming starts at 09:30 GMT (10:30 CET)
The story of the fossil meteorites
What four small pieces of rock can teach us about the history of the solar system.
An all-new weather prediction system is on its way
NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have teamed up to increase the accuracy of weather forecasts down on Earth.
Atom-length measurement
Technology image of the week: Preparing for gravitational measurements from space
Spaceport prepares
The Ariane 6 launch zone is taking shape at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, preparing for liftoff in July 2020
NASA Builds its Next Mars Rover Mission
The 2020 mission’s hardware is coming together at JPL.
NASA Finds VA Metro Area Is Sinking Unevenly
The Hampton Roads metropolitan area is sinking at highly uneven rates, with a few spots subsiding 7 to 10 times faster than the area average.
Record man
Human and robotic exploration image of the week: Paolo Nespoli talks over amateur radio from the Space Station
Astronomers measure the motions of stars in a nearby galaxy
This first glimpse raises questions about the dark matter models we use.
Crossing drones with satellites: ESA eyes high-altitude aerial platforms
ESA is considering extending its activities to a new region of the sky via a novel type of aerial vehicle, a ‘missing link’ between drones and satellites.
Going green to the Red Planet
ESA’s ground station in Western Australia routinely communicates with spacecraft at far-away places like Mars. Now, it’s using sunlight to generate electricity, significantly reducing energy costs.
Space missions that dodged disaster
Close calls nearly doomed these space missions.
Cosmic Chamaeleon
Space Science Image of the Week: Delve into the depths of a star-forming cloud observed by the Herschel space observatory
Week in Images
Our week through the lens: 20-24 November 2017
Earth from Space
In the 249th edition, the Sentinel-1 mission takes us over part of Thurston Island in Antarctica
Thurston Island
Earth observation image of the week: Sentinel-1 ‘radar vision’ over part of Antarctica’s third-largest island
Spikes for silence
Technology image of the week: Foam that absorbs radio signals and sound
ESA’s latest technology CubeSat cleared for launch site
GomX-4B, ESA’s latest and largest technology-testing CubeSat, will be launched from China early next year, together with the near-identical GomX-4A. The pair will test intersatellite communication links and propulsion while orbiting up to …
Forty years of Meteosat
ESA’s first Earth observation satellite was launched on 23 November 1977. When the first Meteosat satellite took its place in the sky, it completed coverage of the whole globe from geostationary orbit and laid the foundations for European …
The first discovered interstellar asteroid is a quarter-mile long red beast
Take us with you, `Oumuamua.
Black hole friday
Use coupon code BLACKHOLE in the ESAshop checkout to benefit from Spreadshirt’s 24–27 November special offer before it disappears
Planetary scientists close in on a super-Earth with an Earth-like atmosphere
55 Cancri e is too hot for life, but it does have a nice thick blanket to keep it warm.
Cassini Image Mosaic: A Farewell to Saturn
A bevy of color images was assembled to produce the mission’s final end-to-end look at the planet and its rings.
Drone Race: Human Versus Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence could soon match the skills of professional drone pilots.
Rover sunset
Human spaceflight image of the week: Rover and drone form an alliance for space exploration
Galileo quartet fuelled and ready to fly
Europe’s next four Galileo navigation satellites and the Ariane 5 rocket due to lift them into orbit are being readied for their 12 December launch from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
Gadgets for Mars
A mini-rover, tools once used on the Moon and lasers for 3D mapping are in the backpack of the explorers of tomorrow. The terrain will be hazardous and it will be dark in volcanic caves, but this equipment could one day help to scout other…
Did life hitchhike through the Solar System?
Astronomers suggest microscopic organisms, such as tardigrades, can be transported between planets by fast-moving streams of space dust.
Recurring Martian Streaks: Flowing Sand, Not Water?
Seasonal dark streaks on Mars that previously were described as possible signs of flowing water have steep slopes that are better matches to dry flow processes.
Solar System’s First Interstellar Visitor Dazzles Scientists
New data reveal first detected interstellar object to be a rocky, and up to one-quarter mile (400 meters) long and highly-elongated-perhaps 10 times as long as it is wide.
NASA Links Port-City Sea Levels to Regional Ice Melt
A new NASA tool that links changes in sea level in 293 global port cities to specific regions of melting land ice may help coastal planners prepare for future rising seas.
Cooking up supermassive black holes in the early universe
How do you make a supermassive black hole more quickly?
Battered but not broken: Arecibo Observatory receives renewed funding
Puerto Rico’s iconic Arecibo Observatory will remain open after the National Science Foundation announced continued funding last week.
Integral orbits
Visualising 15 years in space for ESA’s Integral satellite
New NASA Insights into the Secret Lives of Plants
Three NASA missions launching in the next two years will look at vegetation across our living planet to investigate the role of plants in Earth’s carbon and water cycles.
Week in Images
Our week through the lens: 13-17 November 2017
Pluto’s smog keeps it cool
The dwarf planet’s hazy smog layer may chill the world more than expected.
Earth from Space
In the 248th edition, discover Chile’s largest salt flat in the Atacama Desert
Lava or Not, Exoplanet 55 Cancri e Likely to have Atmosphere
A super-Earth exoplanet thought to sport lava lakes on its hot side, 55 Cancri e, likely also wears an atmosphere with ingredients similar to Earth’s, a new study indicates.
NASA Survey Technique Estimates Congo Forest’s Carbon
The equivalent of up to three-quarters of the carbon stored in contiguous U.S. forests is locked in the living vegetation of one African country, according to new research.
Lava or Not, Exoplanet 55 Cancri e Likely to have Atmosphere
A super-Earth exoplanet thought to sport lava lakes on its hot side, 55 Cancri e, likely also wears an atmosphere with ingredients similar to Earth’s, a new study indicates.
New pulsar result supports particle dark matter
The nature of dark matter remains elusive, but astronomers are now one step closer to the answer.
The case of the shrinking white dwarf
For the first time, astronomers have found observational evidence of a contracting white-dwarf star.
Autumn fireball
Operations image of the week: A meteoroid as big as a football was seen by thousands as it burned up in the atmosphere over Europe in the evening of 14 November 2017
Fracture swarms on Mars
These striking features on Mars were caused by the planet’s crust stretching apart in response to ancient volcanic activity.
Full house for EDRS
The EDRS–SpaceDataHighway has now begun relaying Earth images from Sentinel-2A, which marks the last of four Copernicus satellites in orbit being brought under the EDRS service.
Our Living Planet Shapes the Search for Life Beyond Earth
The knowledge and tools NASA has developed to study life on Earth will be a great asset to the study of planets beyond our solar system.
Crater shadows
Human Spaceflight image of the week: Astronauts, planetary scientists and engineers cast their shadows at the rim of a volcanic crater
A potentially habitable planet has been discovered just 11 light-years away
Ross 128 may be our nearest chance to find life in another solar system.
Where no CubeSat …
Technology image of the week: Where no CubeSat has gone before; ESA’s M–Argo has been designed to survey small asteroids in deep space
Ozone ups and downs
Climate scientists studying three decades of ozone measurements from seven satellites see a positive trend in global recovery thanks to international efforts to curb ozone-depleting substances.
NASA’s Mars 2020 Mission Performs First Supersonic Parachute Test
First flight tests of the mission’s supersonic parachute have yielded dramatic video.
Are you ready for totality from a mountaintop?
You can view the 2019 total solar eclipse from La Silla Observatory in Chile.
Listening for Gravitational Waves Using Pulsars
To explore low-frequency gravitational waves, researchers look to a natural experiment in the sky called a pulsar timing array.
Art & Culture in space
You don’t have to be a scientist or an engineer to join our space adventure. Check out the creative ways you can be involved and inspired…
Flyby offer
Use coupon code COMET in the ESAshop checkout to land free standard shipping on your next purchase of ESA products. Spreadshirt’s offer flies by 14–16 November
Astronaut meets volcano
An expedition of astronauts, planetary scientists and engineers is off to Spain’s Canary Island of Lanzarote to learn best how to explore uncharted planets. The training will equip space travellers with a geologist’s eye.
Is there a terrestrial analogue for Titan?
Looking for life in Titan’s totally alien seas could start with Earth’s own asphalt lake.
Phobos photobomb
Space Science Image of the Week: Phobos, the Red Planet’s innermost moon, sneaks into Hubble’s image of Mars
Week in Images
Our week through the lens: 6-10 November 2017
Earth from Space
In this week’s edition, the Sentinel-2B satellite takes us to the Republic of Fiji in the South Pacific Ocean
Dawn Explores Ceres’ Interior Evolution
Surface features on Ceres and its interior evolution have a closer relationship than one might think.
Look at the Moon
Human Spaceflight image of the week: ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli’s room with an atypical view
The road to Orion’s launch
NASA’s Orion spacecraft aims to send humans further into space than ever before, and ESA’s European Service Module will provide the essentials for keeping the astronauts alive and on course.
A review of the programme by NASA to assess pro…
Is there (frozen) life on Mars?
A new study finds frozen microbes could indeed survive the harsh martian climate for millions of years.
Testing before use
Operations image of the week: Engineers ensure that the hardware and software used to control satellites works without errors
Three years of Sentinel-1
In this special edition of Earth from Space, discover how radar data from the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission has been used to advance science and in emergency response
Discussing dark matter
A recent roundtable discussion hosted by The Kavli Foundation delves into the latest dark matter map of the cosmos.
What is dead may never die
Astronomers discovered a bizarre “zombie” star that went supernova not just once, but twice.
Vega launches Earth observation satellite for Morocco
Arianespace has launched a Vega rocket to deliver an Earth observation satellite into orbit for the Kingdom of Morocco.
Hot News from the Antarctic Underground
A geothermal heat source may help explain why West Antarctica’s ice sheet is so unstable.
Stressed seedlings in space
Life on Earth has a myriad of problems, but gravity isn’t one of them – staying grounded means organisms can soak up the light and heat that enables growth.
The first known interstellar interloper
Astronomers have spotted a visitor from another solar system.
Why won’t Enceladus just freeze already?
Astronomers created a model for Saturn’s moon Enceladus that may explain why its subsurface ocean has yet to freeze solid.
You can name New Horizons’ next target
NASA invites the public to submit nicknames for MU69, a distant Kuiper Belt object.
Powering Saturn’s Active Ocean Moon
A new study finds heat from friction could power hydrothermal activity on Saturn’s moon Enceladus for billions of years if the moon has a highly porous core.
Heating ocean moon Enceladus for billions of years
Enough heat to power hydrothermal activity inside Saturn’s ocean moon Enceladus for billions of years could be generated through tidal friction if the moon has a highly porous core, a new study finds, working in favour of the moon as a pot…
100 days of Vita
ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli marks his 100th day in space for the Vita mission.
Making waves
Space Science Image of the Week: Cassini catches small moon Daphnis making waves in Saturn’s rings
Looking ahead to the Square Kilometer Array
This web of telescopes will help astronomers unlock the mystery behind black holes, pulsars, and more.
More Than 2.4 Million Names Are Going to Mars
An open call generated overwhelming response from the public.
Astronomers Complete First International Asteroid Tracking Exercise
An international team of astronomers led by NASA scientists successfully completed the first global exercise using a real asteroid to test global response capabilities.
Week in Images
Our week through the lens: 30 October – 3 November 2017
European Space Week starts today in Estonia
When is the last time you used space technology? Probably a matter of minutes ago, if you took bearings on your phone, checked the weather or withdrew money. Starting today, European Space Week celebrates space for the rest of us – as a so…
What do belts around Proxima Centauri mean for exoplanet research?
Astronomy has a Q&A with Guillem Anglada Escude, one of the discoverers of the nearest exoplanet to us.
The brown dwarf that killed its brother
A rare pair tells a strange tale of a premature stellar death.
Earth from Space
In this week’s edition, the Sentinel-3A satellite gives us a view from the fourth most populous city to the rugged Outback of Australia
Juno Aces Eighth Science Pass of Jupiter, Names New Project Manager
NASA’s Juno spacecraft completed its eighth science flyby over Jupiter on Tuesday, Oct. 24.
Launch your design with Cheops
ESA is offering graphic designers and artists a unique opportunity to feature their work on the rocket carrying the Cheops satellite.
Quarry queries
Human Spaceflight image of the week: Testing the Heracles lunar rover
Wind satellite vacuum packed
With liftoff on the horizon, ESA’s Aeolus satellite is going through its last round of tests to make sure that this complex mission will work in orbit. Over the next month, it is sitting in a large chamber that has had all the air sucked o…
The better to see you with, my dear
NASA’s Mars 2020 rover will be armed with an impressive array of 23 cameras to help it analyze and navigate the red planet.
This scorching exoplanet snows sunscreen
It’s a perpetual summer day.
Sentinel-5P timelapse
A look back on the preparations for the 13 October liftoff of Sentinel-5P
Martian Ridge Brings Out Rover’s Color Talents
Color-discerning capabilities that NASA’s Curiosity rover has been using on Mars since 2012 are proving particularly helpful on a mountainside ridge the rover is now climbing.
New Greenland Maps Show More Glaciers at Risk
New maps of Greenland’s seafloor and bedrock show that two to four times as many coastal glaciers are at risk of accelerated melting as previously thought.