Artemis on target for geostationary orbit
Slowly but surely - Artemis heads towards its working position. The experimental ion propulsion system designed to test a new form of technology for station-keeping on future satellites is performing well in its new role to get ESA`s Artemis to geostationary orbit and save the day. The Artemis (Advanced Relay and TEchnology MISsion)... view more... (2002-05-17)
ESA and ANU make space propulsion breakthrough
The European Space Agency and the Australian National University have successfully tested a new design of spacecraft ion engine that dramatically improves performance over present thrusters and marks a major step forward in space propulsion capability. view more (2006-01-12)
ESA develops a smarter way to travel through space
As scientists demand more from space missions travelling to other worlds and beyond, traditional rocket technologies are beginning to show shortcomings. In response, ESA are helping to develop a new type of rocket engine, known as solar-electric propulsion, or more commonly, an ion engine, that can mark a whole new era of space exploration.... view more... (2002-06-11)
Scientists find a solar-powered asteroid
An international research team led by Academy Research Fellow Mikko Kaasalainen has found an asteroid whose rotation receives an extra kick from solar radiation. view more (2007-03-08)
ESA takes a new look at the Moon
Thirty years after Apollo 16`s lunar module, Orion, landed at the western edge of the Descartes Mountains on 21 April 1972, there is still much that we don`t know about the Moon. For instance, how was it created? And what role did it play in the formation and evolution of Earth? We may be closer to answering those, and many other questions,... view more... (2002-04-23)
Green light for two new programmes : Vega Small Launcher and P80 Advanced Solid Booster
The Vega Small Launcher Development programme and the P80 Advanced Solid Propulsion Stage Demonstrator programme were formally approved on 15 December by the participating States. Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland (Spain~s decision still pending) have decided to proceed with full development of the Vega small launcher.... view more... (2000-12-19)
ESA accelerates towards a new space thruster
ESA has confirmed the principle of a new space thruster that may ultimately give much more thrust than today's electric propulsion techniques. view more (2005-12-13)
"First Convention of Lunar Explorers"
ESA Press Release N°11-2001 Will the Moon be the ultimate travel destination? Can we harness energy from the Moon? How and when can we build a lunar base or a lunar village? Will it be possible to transform that barren landscape 384 000 km away into a thriving hub of scientific research and industrialization? These and other questions will be... view more... (2001-03-02)
Baby Beetles Inspire Pitt Researchers to Build 'Mini Boat' Powered by Surface Tension
Inspired by the aquatic wriggling of beetle larvae, a University of Pittsburgh research team has designed a propulsion system that strips away paddles, sails, and motors and harnesses the energy within the water's surface. view more (2009-01-22)
New Cassini images show Northern Lights of Saturn
New images of Saturn obtained by a University of Colorado at Boulder-led team on June 21 using an instrument on the Cassini spacecraft show auroral emissions at its poles similar to Earth's Northern Lights. view more (2005-08-08)
Forecasting the Next Great San Francisco Earthquake
The San Francisco Bay region has a 25 percent chance of a magnitude 7 or greater earthquake in the next 20 years, and a roughly 1 percent chance of such an earthquake each year, according to the "Virtual California" computer simulation. view more (2005-10-14)
Surrey's DMC satellites reach targeted orbit station
All four satellites in the international Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC), co-ordinated by SSTL, have reached their designated orbit stations in preparation for full operation of this unique network of Earth observation microsatellites. The DMC satellites were launched in two stages: the first in November 2002 for Algeria (AlSAT-1) and the... view more... (2004-03-30)
Artemis finally reaches operational orbit
ESA PR 07-2003. Artemis has finally reached geostationary orbit, some 36 000 km above the Earth, at 21.5°E. This announcement would, if all had gone to plan, been made just a few days after lift-off on 12 July 2001. Now, eighteen months and some serious brainstorming further on, the most advanced ESA telecommunications satellite ever... view more... (2003-01-31)
Marsquake detection sensors will take search for water underground
Researchers at Imperial College London have just begun a 5-year project to design and build tiny earthquake measuring devices to go to Mars on the 2007 NetLander mission. Unlike the instruments on next year`s European Mars Express/Beagle II mission, the Marsquake sensors will be the first to look deep inside the planet. The internal structure of... view more... (2002-05-30)
Artemis starts its journey to final orbit
Thanks to ion propulsion, the Artemis mission is turning near-defeat into a success story. Nominal operations could start this summer, with ESA`s satellite, manufactured by Alenia Spazio as prime contractor (I), playing a significant role in the pursuit of high technology and advanced telecommunications. On 12 July 2001, 30 minutes after... view more... (2002-02-21)
Separation Day Arrives for Mars Express and Beagle 2
After a joint journey of 250 million miles (400 million km), the British-built Beagle 2 spacecraft and the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter should now have parted and gone their separate ways. At 8.31 GMT, software on Mars Express was scheduled to send the command for the Beagle 2 lander to separate from the orbiter. This would fire a... view more... (2003-12-19)
Team moves toward silent, eco-friendly plane
MIT and Cambridge University researchers will unveil the conceptual design for a silent, environmentally friendly passenger plane at a press conference Monday, Nov. 6, at the Royal Aeronautical Society in London. view more (2006-11-07)
Press invitation: Solar Sailing Ships Set To Soar
A Discussion Meeting on "Solar Sail Mission Applications" will be held on the morning of FRIDAY 10th MAY 2002 in the Lecture Theatre of the Geological Society, Burlington House, Piccadilly, LONDON. The meeting will bring together world-renowned experts on this revolutionary new form of space propulsion. Members of the press are invited... view more... (2002-05-02)
Signature of contracts for full development of Vega small launcher and P80
ESA PR 11-2003. Today ESA signed a contract with the ELV company for completion of the development phase of the Vega European small launcher programme, and CNES signed, on behalf of ESA, a contract with FiatAvio for development of the P80 advanced solid propulsion stage and demonstrator. The contracts were signed in Colleferro (Rome), on the... view more... (2003-02-26)
NASA'S Cassini spacecraft captures Saturnian moon ballet
The cold, icy orbs of the Saturn system come to life in a slew of new movie clips showing the ringed planet's moons in motion. view more (2006-06-22)
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