Human spaceflight and robotic exploration image of the week: Astronauts on ESA’s training course in Italy

Improve your car’s fuel efficiency by using satellite data won this year’s ActInSpace, a hackathon weekend involving 800 people in 24 cities in 12 countries looking for everyday uses of space.

In the excitement of watching Tim Peake, Yuri Malenchenko and Tim Kopra land on Earth on 18 June after 186 days in space, all attention was focused on the astronauts and their bumpy ride. 

Space Science Image of the Week: The geysers on Enceladus come from a region where the crust might be paper-thin

The jet in NGC 1377 reveals the presence of a supermassive black hole, but it has even more to tell us.

Just before the orbital insertion, Juno took this video.

A new theory introduces the idea that Mars’ two moons, Phobos and Deimos, were created after an intense Martian collision.

After almost five years and 1.7 billion million miles (2.7 billion kilometers), NASA’s Juno mission is about to enter into orbit around Jupiter.

After an almost five-year journey to the solar system’s largest planet, NASA’s Juno spacecraft successfully entered Jupiter’s orbit during a 35-minute engine burn.

After a 35 minute burn, the craft is now the second to orbit Jupiter.

As of noon (Pacific time) today, July 2, NASA’s Juno mission was 1.79 million miles (2.88 million kilometers) from Jupiter — and closing.

NASA’s Juno mission will arrive at Jupiter on the Fourth of July, after traveling some 1.7 billion miles through the solar system, and prepare to insert itself into orbit around the gas giant.
If everything goes smoothly, it will orbit the planet…

Even after Juno’s studies of Jupiter are over, studies of our largest planet and its moons will continue

Today, an international team of six astronauts from China, Japan, USA, Spain and Russia will descend into the caves of Sardinia, Italy, to explore the depths and train for life in outer space.

NASA’s Juno mission has completed its main engine burn and entered orbit around Jupiter. Watch the live NASA news briefing at 10 p.m. PDT for more information.

Rosetta describes the exciting discoveries she made during her second year at the comet

Our week through the lens: 27 June – 1 July 2016

10 September 2016: Citizens’ Debate on Space for Europe in 22 ESA Member States

The positioning of certain ancient “passive grave” sites indicates they also have have been used as a way to observe the heavens.

For 35 perilous minutes, Juno will be in a make-or-break rocket burn to get into polar orbit around Jupiter.

NASA’s return to Jupiter provides an excellent chance to watch the splendor of our largest planet from afar.

New Horizons will be heading to the Kuiper Belt, while Dawn will stay at Ceres.

Earth observation image of the week: An active volcano in the US state of Washington

A never before seen type of wind ripple has been found on the Red Planet.

On June 30, just in time for the global celebration known as Asteroid Day, NASA’s Dawn spacecraft completes its primary mission.

NASA’s Jupiter-bound Juno spacecraft has entered the planet’s magnetosphere, where the movement of particles in space is controlled by what’s going on inside Jupiter.

Some of the wind-sculpted sand ripples on Mars are a type not seen on Earth, and their relationship to the thin Martian atmosphere today provides new clues about the atmosphere’s history.

At about 12:15 pm PDT today (3:15 p.m. EDT), mission controllers will transmit command product “ji4040” into deep space, to transition the solar-powered Juno spacecraft into autopilot.

Join us Friday, 1 July, at 10:00 CEST for the ‘Earth from Space’ video programme. This week features a Sentinel-2A image of Mount St Helens in the US

Data on over 250,000 galaxies going back 13 billion years will show how galaxies change over time.

The mission is coming to an end as a result of the spacecraft’s ever-increasing distance from the Sun and Earth.

This observation program is supported by measurements made by NASA’s Juno spacecraft, currently on its way to Jupiter.

With Juno’s mission officially underway this weekend, here’s what you need to know about NASA’s latest Jupiter explorer.

Rosetta is set to complete its mission in a controlled descent to the surface of its comet on 30 September.

Play this mobile game and learn more about the AIM mission

Today is international Asteroid Day – learn more about ESA asteroid tracking and future exploration plans

The surface shows evidence of materials that could only form under intense pressure.

There’s less ice than we thought. Here’s what that means for those bright spots.

This Fourth of July, NASA’s solar-powered Juno spacecraft will arrive at Jupiter after an almost five-year journey.

The brightest area on Ceres, located in the mysterious Occator Crater, has the highest concentration of carbonate minerals ever seen outside Earth, according to a new study from scientists on NASA’s Dawn mission.

NASA’s Juno spacecraft, arriving at Jupiter on July 4, will begin to unravel some of the planet’s greatest mysteries, including the origin of its massive magnetosphere.

Technology image of the week: ESA’s Asteroid Impact Mission next to its target, to mark Thursday’s Asteroid Day

Besides age, researchers need additional pieces of information to find out whether exoplanets are water-rich or water-poor — mass and size.

Human spaceflight and robotic exploration image of the week: Astronauts from five nations get wet during ESA’s underground training course

They are of particular interest to scientists because they can offer clues to star-formation processes.

Minute Physics pieces together what we know about the great-great-grandfathers of galaxies that we see today.

To find alien life, we may want to scour for the right chemistry.

Tadpole galaxies are rare and difficult to find in the local universe.

Chemicals found in Martian rocks by NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover suggest the Red Planet once had more oxygen in its atmosphere than it does now.

Winter changes in Arctic carbon dioxide may accelerate global warming. Scientists could detect these changes by aircraft with ongoing monitoring programs.

A new map created with measurements from an airborne instrument developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, reveals the devastating effect of California’s ongoing drought on Sierra Nevada conifer forests.

Space Science Image of the Week: Testing the parachute that will slow Schiaparelli for a Mars landing

To dig to the bottom of the LIGO merger, researchers at Durham University created a universe.

Researchers found high levels of manganese oxides by using a laser-firing instrument on the rover.

Getting spacecraft ready for launch may have more to do with medical research than you think.

Today (6/24), at exactly 9:57 and 48 seconds a.m. PDT, NASA’s Juno spacecraft was 5.5 million miles (8.9 million kilometers) from its July 4th appointment with Jupiter.

NASA is weighing using the Curiosity Mars rover to capture images of dark streaks present on some higher slopes of Mount Sharp that may be potential water sites.

Our week through the lens: 20-24 June 2016

The agency awarded a sole source contract extension to the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy for continued Hubble science operations support at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore.

We usually send them 400 km up, but next week ESA will be sending six astronauts 800 m underground into the rocky caves of Sardinia, Italy. The caving course recreates aspects of a space expedition with an international crew and has become an essential part of ESA’s astronaut training.

This year’s participants are ESA astronaut Pedro Duque, NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Richard Arnold, Japanese astronaut Aki Hoshide, Chinese astronaut Ye Guangfu and cosmonaut Sergei Korsakov.

Join us Friday, 24 June, at 10:00 CEST for the ‘Earth from Space’ video programme. This week features a Sentinel-3A image of the Mediterranean

The three new hot Jupiters are the first discovered by Qatar since 2011.

Hubble spied a new feature on the dark blue ice giant.

To accomplish its mission, NASA’s new Jupiter probe needs to put itself on the line dozens of times.

Scientists have discovered an unexpected mineral in a rock sample at Gale Crater on Mars, a finding that may alter our understanding of how the planet evolved.

The Sentinel-2A satellite captured creation of the ‘Floating Piers’ installation on Lake Iseo by the Bulgarian–American artist, Christo

Technology image of the week: Sentinel-2B being lowered into Europe’s largest vacuum chamber for testing

Black holes are a giant X-ray beacon … and an X-ray telescope caught one in the act.

Plenty of good news for our ocean worlds!

What formed the black holes that formed detected gravitational waves?

The twin Sentinel-1 satellites have – for the first time – combined to show their capability for revealing even small deformations in Earth’s surface.

European Service Module testing at NASA’s Plum Brook Station

It may leave some water on Mars, but could be toxic to humans living there.

While the lower levels are already bone dry, electric winds make sure the upper atmosphere stays cooked too.

The most powerful magnets in the universe are caught red-handed with a cloud of debris from the supernova that birthed them.

Astronomers have discovered the youngest fully formed exoplanet ever detected.

Replay: ESA astronaut Tim Peake meets the media at the European Astronaut Centre for the first time since landing back on Earth

Space Science Image of the Week: This Planck view of the North Celestial Loop shows its wispy filaments in detail, including a feature nicknamed ‘the Spider’

In all likelihood, the first stars that formed in the Milky Way will never be directly observed.

A team of astronomers has confirmed the existence of a young planet approximately 5 times the size of Earth.

On its third mission this year, Ariane 5 lofted more than 10.7 tonnes – its heaviest commercial cargo so far.

Watch replay of ESA astronaut Tim Peake, NASA astronaut Tim Kopra and commander Yuri Malenchenko fall back to Earth

Image gallery: ESA astronaut Tim Peake, NASA astronaut Tim Kopra and Russian Soyuz commander Yuri Malenchenko landed safely today

ESA astronaut Tim Peake, NASA astronaut Tim Kopra and Russian Soyuz commander Yuri Malenchenko landed safely today in the Kazakh steppe after a three-hour ride in their Soyuz spacecraft. They left the International Space Station at 05:52&n…

Tim Peake’s best photos from space chosen and commented on by professional photographer Max Alexander

Our week through the lens: 13-17 June 2016

The denser environment in a cluster will cause more frequent interactions between planets and nearby stars, which may explain the excess of hot Jupiters.

On July 4, NASA will fly a solar-powered spacecraft the size of a basketball court within 2,900 miles (4,667 kilometers) of the cloud tops of our solar system’s largest planet.

Watch the return of ESA astronaut Tim Peake, NASA astronaut Tim Kopra and Soyuz spacecraft commander Yuri Malenchenko on Saturday.

Operations image of the week: ESA’s deep-space tracking station in Argentina framed by a rainbow and highlighted by the Sun

Technology image of the week: the shiny face of Japan’s contribution to the BepiColombo mission to Mercury, currently being tested at ESA

Join us Friday, 17 June, at 10:00 CEST for the ‘Earth from Space’ video programme. This week features a Sentinel-2A image of the southern Tibetan Plateau

Researchers’ calculations indicate 2016 HO3 has been a stable quasi-satellite of Earth for almost a century.

A young giant sun cooks its planet hotter than some stars.

ExoMars captured its first images of Mars this week as part of its preparations for arriving at the Red Planet in October.

It is highly probable that the human race will hear from aliens, but it may not be for a while.

The Mars-like deserts of the American Southwest are some of Earth’s most iconic stargazing grounds. Far from pestering city lights and free from regular cloud cover, they provide a starry-skied sanctuary for lovers of the night.
So, it would stan…

A small asteroid has been discovered in an orbit around the sun that keeps it as a constant companion of Earth, and it will remain so for centuries to come.

One physicist believes LIGO-like black holes could be the “missing mass” long sought by particle physicists. Not everyone is so sure.