Mars Express mission operators at ESOC successfully sent a new software patch that would allow the spacecraft to operate in its third decade.
ESA
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Missions & Hardware, Status Report
CHEOPS Ground Segment: Systems And Automation For Mission and Science Operations
The CHEOPS, the first ESA small-class mission, has been performing photometric astronomical observations with a particular emphasis on exoplanetary science for the past five years.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, PLATO, Press Release
Cameras Installed On Terrestrial Planet Hunter Plato
The activities to assemble the European Space Agency’s Plato mission are progressing well now that 24 of the spacecraft’s 26 cameras have been installed. Once in space, Plato will use […]
Posted inArctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Ice Planet Orbital Recon: A23a Earth’s Largest Iceberg
The Ocean and Land Colour Instrument on Copernicus Sentinel-3 captured this image of Earth’s biggest iceberg, A23a, on 5 April 2025.
Posted inGaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release
Biomass Mission: Weighing A Living Planet’s Forests
ESA’s groundbreaking Biomass satellite, designed to provide unprecedented insights into the world’s forests and their crucial role in Earth’s carbon cycle, has been launched. The satellite lifted off aboard a […]
Posted inAriel Mission, Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
De-jittering Ariel: An Optimized Algorithm
The European Space Agency’s Ariel mission, scheduled for launch in 2029, aims to conduct the first large-scale survey of atmospheric spectra of transiting exoplanets.
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Microgravity, Panspermia, Sample Return, Space Life Science, Space Stations, Status Report
Biomarker Preservation in Antarctic Sandstones after Prolonged Space Exposure Outside the International Space Station During the ESA EXPOSE-E Lichens and Fungi Experiment
A primary aim of current and future space exploration missions is the detection and identification of chemical and biological indicators of life, namely biomarkers, on Mars.
Posted inArtemis & Lunar Exploration, Astrogeology, Away Teams & Field Reports, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Moon, Press Release, Tricorders & Sensors
Tricorder Tech: Testing Away Team Tools For The Moon And Beyond
Bathed in realistic lighting, this was the first rehearsal to try out the ergonomics of scientific tools to study the mineralogical and chemical composition of regolith – the dust, soil […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Immense Living Structures Seen From Orbit: Great Barrier Reef, Australia
This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image shows part of one of the world’s natural wonders – the Great Barrier Reef in the Coral Sea off the east coast of Queensland, Australia.
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Saturn, Titan, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
The Top 10 Huygens Discoveries At Titan
On 14 January 2005, at 13:34 CET (12:34 UTC), ESA’s Huygens probe entered the history books by descending to the surface of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon.