Space News & Blog Articles

Week in images: 19-23 September 2022

Lake Trasimeno, the fourth largest lake in Italy, is featured in this week’s Earth from Space image.

Following  preparatory activities and a stringent process  ESA Member States today formally selected Harmony for implementation as the tenth Earth Explorer mission within the FutureEO programme . This unique satellite mission concept is, therefore, now set to become a reality to provide a wealth of new information about our oceans, ice, earthquakes and volcanoes – which will make significant contributions to climate research and risk monitoring.

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A vertical beam of sunlight appears to shoot up into the sky outside Concordia research station in Antarctica in this image taken by ESA-sponsored medical doctor Hannes Hagson.

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Meet Hera, our very own asteroid detective. Together with two small CubeSats – Milani the rock decoder and Juventas the radar visionary – Hera is off on an adventure to explore Didymos, a double asteroid system that is typical of the thousands that pose an impact risk to planet Earth.

Many parts of Europe saw record-breaking temperatures over the summer, but it wasn’t just the continental mainland that was affected: the Mediterranean Sea also suffered a major marine heatwave. An ESA-funded project, CAREHeat, detected one of the most intense Mediterranean marine heatwaves observed during the satellite era – with sea surface temperatures reaching 5°C higher than average.

Cyberattacks and geopolitics threaten today’s increasingly digital world, leading to the disruption of essential supplies such as power and water. ESA, the European Commission and space companies in Europe are teaming up to work towards a highly secure, satellite-enabled connectivity system for the EU – based on the unbreakable laws of physics.

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ESA astronauts Thomas Pesquet, Luca Parmitano, Alexander Gerst, and Matthias Maurer, together with the ESA Director General answered questions from journalists at the IAC in Paris. Andreas Mogensen joined remotely and Samantha Cristoforetti connected directly from the the International Space Station.

The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope is showing off its capabilities closer to home with its first image of Neptune. Not only has Webb captured the clearest view of this peculiar planet’s rings in more than 30 years, but its cameras are also revealing the ice giant in a whole new light.

During missions on the International Space Station, astronauts’ bodies go through a wide array of changes due to lack of gravity - everything from vision to cardiovascular health to bone density is affected.

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The world's largest global space event takes place in Paris from 18 to 22 September 2022 and ESA, of course, will be there!

The James Webb Space Telescope captured its first images and spectra of Mars on 5 September 2022. The telescope, an international collaboration between NASA, ESA and the Canadian Space Agency, provides a unique perspective with its infrared sensitivity on our neighbouring planet, complementing data being collected by orbiters, rovers, and other telescopes.

Week in images: 12-16 September 2022

The ozone layer in our upper atmosphere protects Earth from the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation. The use of human-produced chemicals in our atmosphere used for many years depleted Earth’s ozone layer. However, the reduction in the consumption of ozone-depleting substances driven by the Montreal Protocol – an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer – has allowed for the ozone hole to slowly recover. This global agreement demonstrates the power of international commitment and immediate global action in protecting our environment.

This summer, heatwaves struck Europe, North Africa, the US and Asia with temperatures reaching over 40°C in places – breaking many long-standing records. Images from the Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission show the scale of Britain’s heatwave as it baked in extreme temperatures in August.

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On September 27 at 01:14 CEST, NASA’s DART (for ‘Double Asteroid Redirection Test’) mission is lined up to collide with a body called Dimorphos – a 160-m diameter ‘moonlet’ of a larger asteroid called Didymos – to try and measurably shift its orbit. In this media briefing, hear more about Europe’s contribution to the DART mission, and learn of ESA’s own mission with a close-up survey of Dimorphos, conducted by a spacecraft called HERA. The HERA mission is planned for launch in 2024.

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On 15 September 2022, ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti conducted an in-flight call with the European Parliament from the International Space Station. In conversation with President Metsola and ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher, she provided insights into the importance Europe’s presence in space, as well as the scientific and technological progress enabled by its activities. The three also touched on Samantha’s upcoming commandership, life on the Station, and the pressing issue of space debris.

Image: ESA’s Test Centre expands