74 posts tagged with esa.
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Moon landings, a wooden satellite, Tolkien on Mars, fiery descents
The Martian helicopter completed its final flight on Valinor Hills. "yeah it really could be an ocean moon" - Let's check in on humanity's exploration of space in early 2024. [more inside]
Asteroid bits, fast spaceships, JuMBOs, a space battle, space cat video
December 2023 solstice from space. Let's check in on humanity's solar system exploration before 2024 kicks in. [more inside]
The making of the JUpiter ICy moons Explorer (JUICE)
JUICE launched on April 14th and has been making its way to Jupiter's moons! This 2 hour video is a loving, painstaking look at the incredible teams who worked within the European Space Agency to make JUICE. If you're into micro-details of things like testing to find out how clean the spacecraft is magnetically, to vibration testing of the solar panel array (which is 85 square meters deployed), to logistics challenges, to the contest to solicit art from children to decorate the launch vehicle, this movie is for you.
You can also track JUICE's progress through the solar system in an incredible trajectory with multiple planetary fly-bys to pick up speed here.
Launches, landings, elements, and the fiery golden apples of the sun
NASA started work on this day in 1958. So let's mark the occasion by checking on the past month of humanity's exploration of space. [more inside]
Feeling lunar gravity
Had ceased to exist as a result of a collision with the lunar surface. Let's check in on humanity's exploration of space as autumn 2023 draws nigh, starting with the Sun and working outwards from there. [more inside]
To the other side of the Sun, to resurrect the last Great Observatory
Launches, satellites, deep space missions, images, and more. Let's check in on humanity's exploration of space for July 2023. [more inside]
Hello from lunar orbit! 🌔
An eclipse, the heart of a supernova, rockets up and down the gravity well, and more missions. Here's a snapshot of humanity's exploration of space in April 2023. [more inside]
Volcano on Venus
A Martian glacier, rockets, asteroid samples, moons, and more rockets. From the fiery Sun to the search for alien civilizations, here's an update on humanity's exploration of space.
Sol
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured video of an immense solar flare followed by a solar tornado. [more inside]
Sol
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured video of an immense solar flare followed by a solar tornado. [more inside]
An unusually close glimpse of black hole snacking on star.
The Moon doesn’t currently have an independent time. It's time for another look at humanity's exploration of space, from 2022's end to the start of 2023. There's a lot going on, especially between the Earth's surface and orbit. [more inside]
From the Earth to the Moon and Around the Moon
Helga, Zohar and Commander Moonikin Campos take a trip. It's time for another look at humanity's exploration of space, starting with the Sun.
The European Space Agency-led Solar Orbiter glimpsed a "solar snake" racing across the face of the Sun. [more inside]
The European Space Agency-led Solar Orbiter glimpsed a "solar snake" racing across the face of the Sun. [more inside]
Space is for all
ESA has announced their Astronaut Class of 2022. Comprising 17 astronauts from 12 countries, of which almost 50% are women, the cohort includes 5 career astronauts, 11 reserve astronauts, and 'parastronaut' John McFall, the world's first disabled astronaut. Although not guaranteed to go into orbit, the former British Paralympian will be part of a feasibility project to see what the requirements would be for that to be possible. [more inside]
The face of the sun, a dying robot, meteor strikes, lovely moons
October 2022 in humanity's exploration of space. Let's start from the sun. The European Space Agency (ESA) Solar Orbiter zoomed very close to our star and captured great images of its corona. [more inside]
Moon to Mars activities and asteroid crashing
NASA published its new strategic objectives. And a lot more is going on. Just past the fall equinox, we catch up with humanity's exploration of space. [more inside]
From the Earth to the Moon, to Venus, Mars, and more
A roundup of July and August 2022 in humanity's exploration of space. Humans and robots explored, rockets ascended and descended, various preparations are under way, and many plans were aired. [more inside]
Looking into the universe in June 2022
Today NASA published the first image captured by the James Webb Space Telescope. That makes this a fine day to catch up on all of the other ways people and our machines are exploring space. [more inside]
From Ukraine to deep space
April-June 2022 in humanity's exploration of space. Stand by for rocky passengers, glitches, amazing images, a very French rocket name, Earthly politics, and lots of asteroids.
On the Earth In the Himalayas, a liquid mirror telescope came online. France joined the Artemis accords for sustainable space exploration. BRICS nations announced a new space agreement: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. [more inside]
On the Earth In the Himalayas, a liquid mirror telescope came online. France joined the Artemis accords for sustainable space exploration. BRICS nations announced a new space agreement: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. [more inside]
That figure is far higher than NASA might have hoped.
Later in the hearing, Martin broke down the costs per flight, which will apply to at least the first four launches of the Artemis program: $2.2 billion to build a single SLS rocket, $568 million for ground systems, $1 billion for an Orion spacecraft, and $300 million to the European Space Agency for Orion's Service Module. NASA, Martin said, had checked and confirmed these figures.
The option of dropping a 500-ton structure on India and China
Updates from February 2022 in space. The human effort to explore space continued this month, intersecting the Russian invasion of Ukraine. [more inside]
to strengthen its space presence in an all-round manner
The past fortnight in space. Updates from humanity's exploration of the solar system.
On Earth's surface: using data from three satellites, scientists published a visualization of an unusually violent star. A "hard start" delayed an ABL Space Systems rocket test launch. An uncrewed SpaceX Dragon module safely splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico. [more inside]
On Earth's surface: using data from three satellites, scientists published a visualization of an unusually violent star. A "hard start" delayed an ABL Space Systems rocket test launch. An uncrewed SpaceX Dragon module safely splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico. [more inside]
From L2 to the Moon and points elsewhere
The last two weeks of 2021 in space. Starting with the Earth area: Zhai Zhigang and Ye Guangfu, two taikonauts of the Shenzhou-13 mission on board the Tianhe space station, completed a second EVA lasting six hours. [more inside]
New space walks
A space exploration update for November 2021. In Earth orbit news, one crew returned from the International Space Station, while a new crew rode a SpaceX flight to board the ISS. The ISS altered its orbit by a mile to avoid incoming debris from an old Chinese launch. Members of the Shenzhou 13 team aboard China's Tiangong space station conducted a spacewalk to build out the station; colonel Wang Yaping became China's first female spacewalker. [more inside]
a faint plasma "hum" scientists compared to gentle rain
Another week in humanity's exploration of the solar system. Starting from the sun: the NASA and ESA Solar Orbiter hurtled around the far side of the star from the Earth and tracked a coronal mass ejection. [more inside]
"When it comes to space travel, we are all disabled"
As part of its latest astronaut selection, the European Space Agency is seeking to recruit one or more 'Parastronauts' to examine and demonstrate the feasibility of selecting astronauts who would otherwise be fully qualified for spaceflight but who would be excluded from normal selection criteria by disability. [more inside]
In and around the solar system this week
Humanity and its machines have been busy finding stuff in space. The Chinese Lunar Exploration Program's Chang'e 5 landed in the Oceanus Procellarum, looked around, collected samples, and fired off a sample-laded return rocket towards an orbiter. (previously) [more inside]
A Twenty-Year (And Counting) Mission
Amid all the terrestrial chaos, an anniversary slipped past almost unnoticed: humans have occupied space for a solid twenty years, courtesy of the International Space Station, a joint project of NASA, Roscosmos, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (ASC or CSA, depending). Since 2000, over two hundred astronauts, cosmonauts, and space tourists from various nations have taken turns flying above our heads. [more inside]
Spaaaaace... laaaaaab...
Kraftwerk's live shows are known for being fairly regimented affairs, but at the Jazz Open Festival in Stuttgart, the band was joined by a special guest for a performance of "Spacelab": ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst, who is currently stationed about the ISS. (SLYT)
For thirteen years Cassini joined the dance of Saturn's 62 moons.
Beautiful and absorbing four minute video of Cassini's life one week before it burns into Saturn.
We'd rather go out now in true rock'n'roll style
The Rosetta Space Probe ended its mission at 11:19 UTC September 30, with a controlled touch down on the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko at low speed. After a 10 year journey, Rosetta spent 25 months in orbit of the comet, sending a large amount of images and scientific data. [more inside]
Space Dashboard
Working outside in the cold at the ISS
Britain's first official astronaut, Tim Peake, is hard at work today outside the International Space Station on a spacewalk, going on live as of 10:40am EST. [more inside]
Set the Controls to the Heart of the Sun
Watch the ESA's Sentinel-1A Earth observation satellite launched and deployed into Earth orbit via rocket-mounted cameras (SLYT).
Making Space Tortillas With Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti
ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti is currently living on board the International Space Station for her long duration mission Futura. In this video Samantha shows us how she manages to cook one of her bonus food recipes in microgravity: a quinoa salad with dried tomatoes, mackerel and leek cream, all wrapped in a warm tortilla. [via TwistedSifter]
International Space Station Toilet Tour
Italian Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti shows us the out(erspace)house: International Space Station toilet tour
[more inside]
"I always said 'I want to go to space.'"
Samantha Cristoforetti is an European Space Agency astronaut, Italian Air Force pilot and engineer and polyglot, fluent in Italian, English, German, French and Russian. She is also the first Italian woman in space and cheerfully tweeting and taking photos from the International Space Station.
Hubble Goes High-Definition
The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has revisited one of its most iconic and popular images: the Eagle Nebula’s Pillars of Creation. A new, higher quality image of the structure as seen in visible light recreates the original image, while a high quality image as seen in infra-red light reveals different aspects of the structure and hints of new stars being born. [more inside]
The timelapse video that rules them all
A 6-minute video of Earth from space, featuring aurora borealis, cities at night, storms, and other wonders, created by ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst from 12,500 images taken during his ISS Blue Dot mission.
'Ecological differentiation is the necessary condition for coexistence'
The Ecological Society of America will mark its 100th anniversary in 2015, and to celebrate, the ESA is asking people to weigh in with their ideas about the biggest ecological innovations over the past century. Brian McGill at Dynamic Ecology presents a thoughtful summary of the most important concepts and methods over 100 years of ecological research, and many other ecologists are weighing in as well. [more inside]
We may get a shirt celebrating women in science.
Thanks To That Shirt, We May Get a Shirt Celebrating Women In Science by Mika McKinnon for io9:
"Along with [the newly-designed shirt] provoking quite a few giggles, Elly Zupko, the woman behind the design has been talked into trying to make the shirt for real with the intention of donating proceeds to science diversity programs. She's soliciting names and images of women in science who should be featured on the fabric. Zupko has a lot of logistics to figure out, but she's enthusiastic and buoyed by the support of others eager to celebrate the wide diversity of women in science who have contributed so much over the years. If all goes well, the take-away of this mess will be the Project Scientist for the another incredible space mission wearing another shirt covered in ladies, but this time celebrating them instead of objectifying them.[more inside]
Landing on a comet LIVE!
Scifi and comets
How do you get the world excited about space exploration? With a promotional scifilm. Come see Ambition produced by the European Space Agencacy (ESA) to promote excitement about Rosetta's mission and upcoming landing of the space probe Philae on the Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in November. [more inside]
Selfie with Comet
The Rosetta Mission to comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko took this picture of itself with the comet 16km away in the background.
European Space Agency description of the image.
Phil Platt's Bad Astronomy story.
Flying through an aurora, like going through a giant neon sign
European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst captured this photograph from the International Space Station and tweeted "Words can't describe how it feels flying through an #aurora. I wouldn't even know where to begin..." Not many can share his experience, but photographer Paul Williams captured an aurora while on a flight from London to New York (stills on Flickr). NASA's Science News has an article on Flying Through a Geomagnetic Storm, with information on how auroras are formed, and a bit more on what it's like to fly through them, with an accompanying video (previously).
Psst, Venus. What's up with those holes in your atmosphere?
Venus Express, ESA's first spacecraft to the planet, has been having a good ol' time skimming the surface at an altitude of 81 miles , finding rainbows and investigating those holes in the planet's atmosphere.
Rendezvous with a comet
Today at approximately 08:45am GMT, the Rosetta spacecraft entered orbit of Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko after a 10 year journey. Now in orbit 100km above the surface, Rosetta is already sending back amazing images of a rocky, rough rubber duck shaped comet. [more inside]
One small alarm for a spacecraft, one giant mission for mankind
The Rosetta spacecraft just woke up after a 32 month nap, some 500 million miles from Earth (interactive location tool) in preparation for its encounter with comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. [more inside]
Just another day at the office...
A few weeks ago, Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano (@astro_luca) almost drowned during a spacewalk when his helmet started uncontrollably filling with water, possibly from a leaky spacesuit cooling system. (See previous MeFi discussion on the incident.) A week later, his fellow ISS astronaut Chris Cassidy posted two videos online showing the actual spacesuit and using it to illustrate the problem. All future US and European spacewalks have been halted while the incident is being investigated, although the Russian ones are continuing, as they use different suits. Yesterday, Luca published a scary new entry on his in-orbit blog, where he not only gave all the horror-movie details, but also revealed that he nearly chose to depressurize his suit outside the ISS in order to survive.
Mo’ honey, mo’ problems
The world of honey trading is a murky one, riddled with smuggling and fakery. But honey detectives are on the case! And they have a new, powerful weapon: a laser tool designed by the European Space Agency to measure carbon on Mars that has been re-purposed to detect fake honey. (Via) [more inside]
Damn fine year for outer space achievements and photos
Journey ends
Mars-500, a simulated 520-day mission to Mars (previously and previously), will be completed today at 11:00 CET. Watch live
And a great big blue sky below
32 images of the earth from the blackness of space, many with spacewalking astronauts in the foreground, presented in a Big Picture style. (via) [more inside]
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