ESA Archives

ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet collect a spectra from a rusty rock composed mainly by mafic minerals like olivines and pyroxenes, the same that could characterize the lunar mantleLarger image -- ESA

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Astrogeology, Astronauts and Explorers, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, People Of Astrobiology, Sample Return, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors

Tricorder Microscope Training During ESA PANGEA 2025

by Keith CowingJuly 30, 2025July 30, 2025

Editor’s note: Astronaut Thomas Pesquet carries out investigations with the spectrometer associated with the ESA Electronic FieldBook

Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Microgravity, Radiation, Space Life Science, Space Stations, Status Report

Rotifers In Space: Transcriptomic Response Of The Bdelloid Rotifer Adineta vaga Aboard The International Space Station

by Keith CowingJuly 18, 2025July 18, 2025

This study analyzes the transcriptomic changes experienced by Adineta vaga, a bdelloid rotifer aboard the International Space Station (ISS), using RNA sequencing.

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors

Tricorder Tech: Application Of A Modified Commercial Laser Mass Spectrometer As A Science Analog Of The Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer (MOMA)

by Keith CowingJuly 12, 2025July 12, 2025

The ESA/NASA Rosalind Franklin rover, planned for launch in 2028, will carry the first laser desorption ionization mass spectrometer (LDI-MS) to Mars as part of the Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer […]

An artist’s impression of the proposed VERVE mission to Venus the answer whether tiny bacterial lifeforms really do exist in the planet’s clouds. Credit Danielle Futselaar Licence type Attribution (CC BY 4.0)

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Venus

The Venus Explorer for Reduced Vapours in the Environment (VERVE)

by Keith CowingJuly 10, 2025July 10, 2025

The answer to whether tiny bacterial lifeforms really do exist in the clouds of Venus could be revealed once-and-for-all by a UK-backed mission.

High containment technology is being developed at Space Park Leicester, by the University of Leicester, to support the analysis of the first samples returned from Mars. The Mars Perseverance Rover at Jezero Crater is part of the NASA-ESA ‘Mars Sample Return’ mission to bring samples of Mars material back to Earth for detailed study. ESA’s Double Walled Isolator (DWI) has been proposed as the likely technology to handle the samples in a way that protects both their scientific integrity and that of our terrestrial biosphere, in the unlikely event that the returned samples are hazardous. -- University of Leicester

Microbiology & Virology, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return, Tricorders & Sensors

Planetary Protection: Technology For Ultra-clean Mini-lab To Contain Extraterrestrial Samples

by Keith CowingJuly 7, 2025July 7, 2025

Work has begun to design and build a Double-Walled Isolator (DWI), akin to an ultra-clean miniature laboratory to safely store and analyse extra-terrestrial materials, such as the first material from […]

The European Space Agency’s Mars Express has captured a swirl of colour on the Red Planet, with yellows and rust-oranges meeting deep reds and browns.

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Status Report

Earth Tones On Mars

by Keith CowingJune 30, 2025June 28, 2025

Lurking within this martian palette are not one but four dust devils, each snaking their way across the surface.

Bolivian forest and landscape from Biomass -- ESA (larger image)

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Habitable Planet Orbital Assay: Biomass Mission Views Our Home World

by Keith CowingJune 23, 2025June 23, 2025

Today, at the Living Planet Symposium, ESA revealed the first stunning images from its groundbreaking Biomass satellite mission – marking a major leap forward in our ability to understand how […]

Candidate targets for the Rocky Worlds DDT programme in the context of the ‘Cosmic Shoreline’, including the two first selected targets (highlighted in orange). Credit: Néstor Espinoza & Mees Fix (STScI)

Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

The Rocky Worlds Director’s Discretionary Time Program

by Keith CowingJune 18, 2025June 18, 2025

The Rocky Worlds Director’s Discretionary Time (DDT) programme combines Hubble and Webb observations to search for evidence of atmospheres on rocky exoplanets orbiting around M-dwarf stars.

A thick plume of sand and dust from the Sahara Desert is seen in these images blowing from the west coast of Africa across the Atlantic Ocean. Larger image

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Desert Worlds, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release

When A Desert Planet And Ocean Planet Mix: A Saharan Dust Plume

by Keith CowingJune 6, 2025August 23, 2025

Sandstorms, which are common over the Sahara, occur when large amounts of dust particles from the desert are swept up by strong winds. They can float for days or even […]

Bright and dark streaks covering the slopes of the Olympus Mons aureole, as seen by the Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System (CaSSIS) onboard the European Space Agency’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter. Larger image

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Icy Worlds, Mars, Press Release

A Non-Water Origin For Those Streaks On Mars

by Keith CowingMay 29, 2025May 26, 2025

As if someone has been sweeping the surface of Mars with a broom, the origin of odd, streaked slopes has intrigued scientists for decades.

ESA

Tricorder Microscope Training During ESA PANGEA 2025

Rotifers In Space: Transcriptomic Response Of The Bdelloid Rotifer Adineta vaga Aboard The International Space Station

Tricorder Tech: Application Of A Modified Commercial Laser Mass Spectrometer As A Science Analog Of The Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer (MOMA)

The Venus Explorer for Reduced Vapours in the Environment (VERVE)

Planetary Protection: Technology For Ultra-clean Mini-lab To Contain Extraterrestrial Samples

Earth Tones On Mars

Habitable Planet Orbital Assay: Biomass Mission Views Our Home World

The Rocky Worlds Director’s Discretionary Time Program

When A Desert Planet And Ocean Planet Mix: A Saharan Dust Plume

A Non-Water Origin For Those Streaks On Mars

A Martian Horizon Last Monday Afternoon

Habitable-zone Earths At The Detection Frontier: Measured Completeness And False-alarm Rate Of A Transit Pipeline For The PLATO M-dwarf Sample

A Homogeneous Survey Of JWST MIRI Transmission Spectra Of 10 Exoplanets

Retrieving Ocean Glint Reflectance Signatures From Directly Imaged Earth-like Exoplanets

Analytical Platform (Microsampling, Catapulting, Trapping, and LIBS) for the Characterization of Discrete Domains in Samples of Astrochemical Interest