NASA’s Opportunity Mars rover will soon move to a position that will help the sun-powered robot keep active through the Martian winter.

Read about ESA astronaut Tim Peake’s Principia mission

Our week through the lens: 21-25 September 2015

A spacecraft tool is now improving car safety by stress-testing many of the internal computer systems to be sure they work well when the car is on the road.

The fact that gravitational waves weren’t detected goes against theoretical expectations and throws our current understanding of black holes into question.

Rover operators plan to use the vehicle through the upcoming martian winter and beyond to study outcrops bearing clay minerals.

Europe’s latest pair of Galileo satellites has passed its initial check out in space, allowing control to be handed over to the main control centre and join the growing fleet.

NASA will detail a major science finding from the agency’s ongoing exploration of Mars during a news briefing at 8:30 a.m. PDT (11:30 a.m. EDT) on Monday, Sept. 28.

Today, ESA celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Agency’s ground station network, the indispensable link to spacecraft that are helping us to learn about our planet, our Solar System and our Universe.

Underground water vapor reaches the comet’s cold surface and freezes again, blanketing that patch of surface with a thin layer of fresh ice.

It’s a unique and perplexing landscape stretching over hundreds of miles.

The winning entry in the #Estrack40 audio contest is now the official theme music for ESA’s ground station network

ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft has provided evidence for a daily water-ice cycle on and near the surface of comets.

Scientists are trying to learn whether this is normal behavior that was unnoticed due to limited monitoring or these flares are triggered by the recent close passage of a mysterious dusty object.

There is more oxygen in Earth’s core than originally thought.

A new study strengthens the case for the existence of a third major class of black holes.

DESI will measure the redshifts of more than 30 million galaxies and quasars with unprecedented precision. And, if approved, the instrument will give new life to Kitt Peak National Observatory’s iconic Mayall telescope.

Potentially prime sources of gravitational waves, supermassive black hole pairs may not be as common as astronomers predict.

A problem recently discovered in two sensors in the propulsion system of the entry, descent and landing demonstrator module has prompted the recommendation to move the launch of the ExoMars 2016 mission, initially foreseen in January, to M…

NGC 3921 is an interacting pair of disk galaxies in the late stages of its merger.

ESA deploys ‘big iron’ to communicate with its deep-space missions: three 35 m-diameter dishes employing some of the world’s most advanced tracking technology. And it’s about to get a boost.

ESA’s three Deep Space Antenna stations at New Norcia, Australia, Cebreros, Spain and Malargüe, Argentina, beam commands and receive data from spacecraft voyaging hundreds of millions of kilometres into our Solar System.

Pluto’s flowing ice is downright Earth-like in these freshly downloaded images from New Horizons. But instead of water, the dwarf planet’s hydrological cycle appears driven by soft and exotic ices like nitrogen.

The researchers found that one of the black holes is gobbling up more matter than the other, and this process heats up matter that emits energetic light.

A dance between two candidate black holes is yielding some high-speed secrets.

Recently, astronomers have combined all the data available for the nearby Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy to create the most accurate star formation history ever determined for a dwarf spheroidal galaxy.

Astronomers found large disks of dust around two of the stars, telltale signs of planets in the process of forming.

A global ocean lies beneath the icy crust of Saturn’s geologically active moon Enceladus, according to new research using data from NASA’s Cassini mission.

Researchers found that the magnitude of the moon’s slight wobble, as it orbits Saturn, can only be accounted for if its outer ice shell is not frozen solid to its interior.

Just as the Moon came into SDO’s field of view on a path to cross the Sun, Earth entered the picture, blocking SDO’s view completely.

This sandstone outcrop has a structure called crossbedding on a large scale that the team has interpreted as deposits of sand dunes formed by wind.

Further impacts to these regions may have then sealed up cracks and decreased porosity.

ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen, Soyuz spacecraft commander Gennady Padalka and Kazakh cosmonaut Aidyn Aimbetov landed this morning at 00:51 GMT (02:51 CEST 12 September) in the steppe of Kazakhstan, marking the end of their missions to the…

Wildfires driven by autumn Santa Ana winds are 10 times more expensive than summer fires, a new study shows. But both kinds are costly, and both are on the increase.

The next rock target to be drilled by NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover may be sandstone that was deposited by wind, unlike previous rock targets deposited by water.

ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen is proving to be an expert space driver after commanding two rovers from space this week. As part of ESA’s Meteron project, Andreas drove a second, car-sized rover from the International Space Station to repair a mockup lunar base in the Netherlands.

A student has found a rare close binary composed of two massive stars with magnetic fields.

The unexpected find suggests that behemoth galaxies at the cores of massive clusters can grow significantly by feeding off gas stolen from other galaxies.

Europe’s own satellite navigation system has come a step nearer to completion today, with Galileo 9 and 10 which lifted off together at 02:08 GMT on 11 September (04:08 CEST; 23:08 local time, 10 September) from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, atop a Soyuz launcher.

They reveal new features as diverse as possible dunes, nitrogen ice flows that apparently oozed out of mountainous regions onto plains, and even networks of valleys that may have been carved by material flowing over Pluto’s surface.

Astronomers have discovered a rare beast of a galaxy cluster whose heart is bursting with new stars.

An unusual observation by Mars Express shows a sweeping view over the planet’s south polar ice cap and across its ancient, cratered highlands.

A new statistical method enabled scientists to parse out signals from the noise in Hubble’s deep-sky images, providing the first estimate of the number of small galaxies in the early universe.

New measurements show that Mercury is spinning on its axis about nine seconds faster than scientists had previously calculated.

The brightest spots on the dwarf planet Ceres gleam with mystery in new views delivered by NASA’s Dawn spacecraft.

The answer lies in densely packed and previously unrecognized nuggets of star-forming material sprinkled through the galaxy.

The new up-close view of Occator Crater from Dawn’s current vantage point reveals better-defined shapes of the brightest central spot and features on the crater floor.

Europe’s ninth and tenth Galileo satellites have reached their launch pad, taking their position atop the vertical Soyuz launcher in readiness for Friday’s launch.

The mission team has begun the yearlong intensive downlinking of the tens of gigabits of data the spacecraft collected and stored on its digital recorders from the Pluto flyby.

Follow ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen operating the Interact rover from space – rover testing now starts at 1410 GMT (1610 CEST)

Space Science Image of the Week: Planck reveals an interstellar filament and our galactic neighbours, the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds

The Sentinel-2A satellite has been in orbit for only a matter of weeks, but new images of an algal bloom in the Baltic Sea show that it is already exceeding expectations. Built essentially as a land monitoring mission, Sentinel-2 will also…

Our week through the lens: 31 August-4 September 2015

When the next pair of Galileo satellites is boosted into orbit next Friday, a team of mission control experts in Darmstadt, Germany, will spring into action, working around the clock to bring the duo through their critical first days in sp…

Watch the replay of ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen, commander Sergei Volkov and Aidyn Aimbetov opening the hatch to the International Space Station after a two-day flight in space

To researchers surprise, nature apparently forms stars with a consistent distribution from massive supergiants to tiny dwarfs.

After a two-day flight in space, ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen, commander Sergei Volkov and Aidyn Aimbetov arrived at the International Space Station at 07:39 GMT (09:39 CEST)

Earth observation image of the week: a Sentinel-2 image of the Northern Territory desert in Australia, also featured on the Earth from Space video programme

NASA satellite measurements have given scientists a better understanding of what happens to rain and snow that fall on land, with a few surprising findings.

Hedgehog is a new concept for a robot that is specifically designed to overcome the challenges of traversing small solar system bodies.

Herschel and Planck teams are recipients of a prestigious aerospace industry award.

Follow the entire 10-day mission of ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen to the International Space Station with behind-the-scenes info on the iriss blog

Europe’s ninth and tenth Galileo satellites being fixed to the dispenser that will secure them during their 11 September launch

Come and see how images of Earth from space show how science meets art at a new exhibition at Ars Electronica in Linz, Austria

A new analysis of the largest known deposit of carbonate minerals on Mars suggests that the original martian atmosphere may have already lost most of its carbon dioxide by the era of valley network formation.

During equinox, one part of the rings didn’t cool as expected, which allowed scientists to model what they might be like on the inside.

Join us Friday, 4 September, at 10:00 CEST for the ‘Earth from Space’ video programme. This week features a Sentinel-2A satellite image of the Australian Northern Territory.

One section of Saturn’s rings may be loaded with chunks of solid ice, possibly shards from a destroyed moon, according to a new study by Cassini scientists.

NASA SMAP observatory managers have determined its radar can no longer return data, but the mission continues to produce high-quality science with its radiometer instrument.

This concept puts forth a new way to get into orbit and land on comets and asteroids using the kinetic energy of these small bodies.

This new image of IC 4628 (Gum 56) shows newborn stars formed by the remains of the most massive suns of a previous generation.

Technology image of the week: ESA’s head of telerobotics introducing the rover Andreas Mogensen will soon be operating from orbit

Watch the full replay of Soyuz TMA-18M launch to the International Space Station with ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen

ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen, commander Sergei Volkov and Aidyn Aimbetov were launched into space this morning2 Septemberat 04:38 GMT (06:38 CEST) from Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.

Replay: ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen, commander Sergei Volkov and Aidyn Aimbetov launched into space 2 September at 04:37 GMT (06:37 CEST) from Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.

A concept for orbiting and landing on multiple asteroids and comets is being developed at JPL.

The amount of Martian atmosphere trapped by mineral formation appears inadequate to account for a warm environment when rivers cut valleys on ancient Mars.

Human spaceflight and operations image of the week: Thumbs up for the crew being launched to the International Space Station on Wednesday

LISA Pathfinder, ESA’s demonstrator for spaceborne observations of gravitational waves, is ready to leave for Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.

Scheduled for launch later this year, the mission will pave the way for future space-based projects to observe gravitational waves.

Europe’s ninth and tenth Galileo satellites have been attached to the dispenser that will hold them during their flight up into space, then release them into their planned orbits.

NASA has begun a multi-year field campaign to investigate ecological impacts of the rapidly changing climate in Alaska and northwestern Canada.

Researchers have developed innovative flat, optical lenses as part of a collaboration between JPL and the Caltech.

After a two-day flight in space, ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen, commander Sergei Volkov and Aidyn Aimbetov will arrive at the International Space Station on 4 September. Watch live from 07:20 GMT (09:20 CEST)

Space Science Image of the Week: LISA Pathfinder, planned for a Vega launch later this year, will pave the way for gravitational-wave observatories in space

NASA selects the next target for New Horizons, a Kuiper Belt object a billion miles past Pluto.

America’s darkest stretch of land gets another International Dark-Sky Park after National Park Service officials complete a sustained effort to make their lights night-sky friendly.

Researchers camped on Greenland’s ice sheet this summer studied streams that form atop the ice and carry meltwater to the ocean, where it adds to sea level rise.

An airborne campaign over Greenland this summer helps scientists prepare for a satellite mission that will monitor global ice sheets.

Our week through the lens: 24-28 August 2015

Europe’s latest Galileo satellites are fully fuelled, leaving them ready to be attached to their launcher upper stage in preparation for their 11 September launch.

The finding suggests that the brilliant cores of active galaxies may commonly host two central supermassive black holes that fall into orbit about one another as a result of the merger between two galaxies.

New research by Harvard astrophysicists shows that if life can travel between the stars, it would spread in a characteristic pattern that we could potentially identify.

The next two satellites in Europe’s Galileo satellite navigation system will be launched together on 11 September, taking its orbital constellation a step closer to initial services. Media are invited to take part in an audio briefing on 1…

On 9 September, the first of 12 men will go to bed for 60 days as part of important research into stopping the wasting effects that spaceflight has on the human body. Although they may be putting their feet up, it is set to be a far from r…

The state’s highest court started hearing oral arguments today over the fate of what could one day be the world’s largest telescope, which protesters say would desecrate their sacred land.

A tiny 3-D camera for potential use in brain surgery, has been honored with a technology award.

ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen will leave for the International Space Station from Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on 2 September with commander Sergei Volkov and Kazakh cosmonaut Aidyn Aimbetov. Their flight in the Soyuz TMA-18M spacecr…

‘Float’ and explore in detail each module of the International Space Station in this 360° panoramic view

Early September will see the very first force-feedback-based teleoperation of a rover-based robotic arm system on Earth from the International Space Station, orbiting 400 km above our heads.