Mars Express radar to be deployed in May
Following green light for the deployment of ESA's Mars Express radar, given in February this year, the radar booms are now planned to be deployed in the first half of May. Once the deployment is successful, the Mars Express MARSIS radar will enable the first European spacecraft to orbit Mars to complement its study of the planet's atmosphere and... view more... (2005-04-29)
Venus Express comes into Cosmic Vision
On 11 July 2002, Europe took a step closer to Venus. The ESA Science Programme Committee agreed unanimously to start work on Venus Express. Venus Express will reuse the Mars Express spacecraft design and needs to be ready for launch in 2005. view more (2002-07-15)
Final preparation tests for Artemis
ESA’s Artemis spacecraft has just completed a rigorous schedule of final inspections and testing at the European launch site in Kourou, French Guiana. The spacecraft and its sensitive instruments have been protected from the unfriendly tropical conditions in a special, environmentally-sealed testing chamber to ensure that it will... view more... (2001-04-26)
Timing is critical as launch windows approach
There will be greater tension than usual among engineers and scientists at Europe`s spaceport at Kourou, French Guiana, in January 2003, as they gather to see ESA`s comet-chasing spacecraft Rosetta departing on its long journey. If it is to keep its rendezvous with Comet Wirtanen in 2012, Rosetta must lift off on its Ariane-5 launcher no sooner... view more... (2002-09-05)
Sophisticated ESA space weather tool under development
If a satellite encounters high-energy particles or other 'space weather' phenomena before ground controllers can take action, on-board electronics could be disrupted, scientific instruments damaged and, in very rare and extreme cases, spacecraft may even be lost. view more (2007-02-05)
NASA's Deep Impact Craft Observes Major Comet 'Outburst'
NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft observed a massive, short-lived outburst of ice or other particles from comet Tempel 1 that temporarily expanded the size and reflectivity of the cloud of dust and gas (coma) that surrounds the comet nucleus. view more (2005-06-29)
Three more DMC spacecraft prepare for launch
SSTL are preparing for the launch of three more spacecraft in the international Disaster Monitoring Constellation - the first cluster of satellites dedicated to monitoring disasters from space. The three spacecraft, each with a mass of approximately 100kg, have arrived at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia and SSTL engineers are now... view more... (2003-09-15)
Pluto-Bound New Horizons Spacecraft Gets a Boost from Jupiter
NASA's New Horizons spacecraft successfully completed a flyby of Jupiter early this morning, using the massive planet's gravity to pick up speed on its 3-billion mile voyage to Pluto and the unexplored Kuiper Belt region beyond. view more (2007-03-01)
Quantum analog of Ulam's conjecture can guide molecules, reactions
Like navigating spacecraft through the solar system by means of gravity and small propulsive bursts, researchers can guide atoms, molecules and chemical reactions by utilizing the forces that bind nuclei and electrons into molecules (analogous to gravity) and by using light for propulsion. view more (2007-08-08)
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)
Jules Verne demonstrates flawless Collision Avoidance Manoeuvre
Mission controllers received confirmation shortly after 10:45 CET (09:45 UT) this morning that Jules Verne ATV had successfully demonstrated the critical Collision Avoidance Manoeuvre. The crucial test began at 08:57 CET (07:57 UT), and included placing the spacecraft into a minimally functioning 'survival' mode. view more (2008-03-17)
CryoSat takes significant step towards final completion
CryoSat, the first Earth Explorer mission within ESA's Living Planet Programme, is now entering the final phase of assembly prior to its scheduled launch next year. CryoSat is designed to measure changes in the Earth's terrestrial and marine ice fields and aims to provide conclusive evidence as to whether there is a trend towards diminishing... view more... (2003-08-04)
Astronomers hunt Martian water from Earth
As Mars makes its closest approach in almost 60,000 years, two Australian astronomers have used the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) in Hawaii to look for signs that the planet once had liquid water - and so may have hosted life. Dr. Jeremy Bailey of the Anglo-Australian Observatory and the Australian Centre for Astrobiology (ACA) at... view more... (2003-08-26)
Success For Early Double Star Launch
A rare event in the history of space exploration took place yesterday (25 July) when the second European-Chinese Double Star spacecraft lifted off a day early from Taiyuan spaceport, west of Beijing, on a Long March 2C rocket. The launch of the spacecraft, officially called Tan Ce 2 (Explorer 2), was brought forward one day to avoid bad weather.... view more... (2004-07-26)
Getting closer to the Lord of the Rings
This time next year, ESA's Huygens spaceprobe will be descending through the atmosphere of Saturn's largest moon, becoming the first spacecraft to land on a body in the outer Solar System. Earlier this month, the giant ringed planet Saturn was closer to Earth than it will be for the next thirty years. All the planets orbit the Sun as if on a... view more... (2004-01-16)
Last call for Marecs B2
One of ESA’s longest-serving and hardest-working communications satellites is being put into retirement after years of dedicated service. Marecs B2, built as a reserve satellite but launched in 1984 to replace the failed Marecs B, had a nominal life-span of seven years. Now, after 18 years of sterling service to the world’s sea-going... view more... (2002-01-23)
Brown Planetary Geologists Lend Expertise to Mercury Mission
What lies on the uncharted side of mysterious Mercury, the smallest planet in the solar system? Brown University students, led by planetary geologist James Head, will study never-before-seen images of Mercury when a NASA spacecraft makes the first visit to Mercury in nearly 33 years. view more (2008-01-14)
Cassini flies by Saturn's tortured moon Mimas
On its recent close flyby of Mimas (MY-muss), the Cassini spacecraft found the Saturnian moon looking battered and bruised, with a surface that may be the most heavily cratered in the Saturn system. view more (2005-08-08)
SOHO`s private view of a sunbathing comet
You could see it easily with your unaided eye (but don`t try!) if only Comet Machholz 1 were not so very close to the Sun. This unusual comet, reputed to flare up a lot, is today sweltering only 18 million kilometres from the Sun. This is its closest approach on an orbit that brings it back to the solar vicinity every 63 months. The best and... view more... (2002-01-09)
Cluster Quartet Probes the Secrets of the Black Aurora
Swedish and British researchers have used the European Space Agency`s Cluster spacecraft to unveil the mysteries of the "black aurora", a strange electrical phenomenon that generates dark, empty regions adjacent to the visible Northern and Southern Lights. The new results, to be announced today at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San... view more... (2001-12-10)
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