With liftoff set for today at 21:30 CET, the Ariane 5 rocket carrying the first Meteosat Third Generation Imager, MTG-I1, satellite is poised patiently on the launch pad at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana while the final checks are being carried out. Once in geostationary orbit, 36,000 km above the equator, this new satellite is set to herald a new era for meteorology.
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The animation shows the full launch sequence for the first Meteosat Third Generation Imager (MTG-I1) satellite. MTG-I1 launches on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
MTG-I1 is the first of six satellites that form the full MTG system, which will provide critical data for weather forecasting over the next 20 years. In full operations, the mission will comprise two MTG-I satellites and one MTG Sounding (MTG-S) satellites working in tandem.
The MTG-I satellites carry two completely new instruments, a Flexible Combined Imager and Europe’s first Lightning Imager, to deliver high-quality data for better weather forecasting.
On 13 December, the first of a new generation of satellites designed to revolutionise weather forecasting in Europe will take to the skies. ESA and the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (Eumetsat) invite you to follow the live coverage for the launch of the first Meteosat Third Generation satellite starting from 19:40 CET on ESA Web TV.
Tucked away in the Fucino Valley, in central Italy, lies the Fucino Space Centre, where Telespazio will manage the early orbit activities of the Meteosat Third Generation Imager, set to launch on 13 December from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.
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NASA’s Orion spacecraft, powered by ESA’s European Service Module, shares a stunning new take on ‘Earth rise’ following the return powered flyby of the Moon.
This image was taken on 5 December, flight day 20, after the spacecraft completed a 3 minute 27 second burn to swing around the Moon and back to Earth.
Just before the burn, Orion made its second and final close approach to the Moon at 17:43 CET (16:43 GMT), passing 130 km above the lunar surface.
The burn, which used the European Service Module’s main engine, changed the velocity of the spacecraft by about 1054 km/h. It was the final major engine burn of the Artemis I mission.
Orion is due to splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on 11 December to complete the 25-day Artemis I mission.
As preparations to launch Europe’s first Meteosat Third Generation Imager satellite continue, the team at Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, has bid farewell to their precious satellite as it was sealed from view within the Ariane 5 rocket’s fairing. This all-new weather satellite is set to take to the skies on 13 December.
A contract signed today between ESA and Arianespace has ensured rides into orbit for five Copernicus Sentinels: Sentinel-1D, Sentinel-2C, Sentinel-3C, and the Copernicus Anthropogenic Carbon Dioxide-A and -B satellites. All the satellites will be launched on Vega-C rockets from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana and are scheduled to take place between 2024 and 2026.
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One week today, the first of a new generation of weather satellites will take to the skies. The Meteosat Third Generation system is the most complex and innovative meteorological satellite systems ever built. It will bring new capabilities to monitor weather, climate and the environment from space like never before – promising to further bolster Europe’s leadership in weather forecasting.
Join us for the live launch coverage of the Metetosat Third Generation Imager on 13 December on ESA Web TV.
Today at 17:43 CET (16:43 GMT) the European Service Module for Orion fired its main engine at less than 127 km from the Moon's surface to put the Artemis spacecraft on a collision course with Earth.
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Watch the replay of the Meteosat Third Generation Imager-1 pre-launch press briefing held on 5 December 2022. Speakers include Simonetta Cheli, ESA’s Director of Earth Observation Programmes; Phil Evans, Director General of Eumetsat; Bertrand Denis, Vice President Observation and Science at Thales Alenia Space and Simon Keogh, Head of Space Applications and Nowcasting Research & Development at the UK Met Office.
MTG-I1 is scheduled to be launched on 13 December on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. It is the first of six satellites that form the full MTG system, which will provide critical data for weather forecasting over the next 20 years. In full operations, the mission will comprise two MTG-I satellites and one MTG Sounding (MTG-S) satellites working in tandem.
The MTG-I satellites carry two completely new instruments, a Flexible Combined Imager and Europe’s first Lightning Imager, to deliver high-quality data for better weather forecasting.
The remarkable moraine patterns of Malaspina Glacier – the largest piedmont glacier in the world – are featured in this false-colour image acquired by Copernicus Sentinel-2.
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These are images of Saturn’s moon Titan, captured by the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam instrument on 4 November 2022. The image on the left uses a filter sensitive to Titan’s lower atmosphere. The bright spots are prominent clouds in the northern hemisphere. The image on the right is a color composite image. Click here for an annotated version of this image.
Titan is the only moon in the Solar System with a dense atmosphere, and it is also the only planetary body other than Earth that currently has rivers, lakes, and seas. Unlike Earth, however, the liquid on Titan’s surface is composed of hydrocarbons including methane and ethane, not water. Its atmosphere is filled with thick haze that obscures visible light reflecting off the surface.
Scientists have waited for years to use Webb’s infrared vision to study Titan’s atmosphere, including its fascinating weather patterns and gaseous composition, and also see through the haze to study albedo features (bright and dark patches) on the surface. Further Titan data are expected from NIRCam and NIRSpec as well as the first data from Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) in May or June of 2023. The MIRI data will reveal an even greater part of Titan’s spectrum, including some wavelengths that have never before been seen. This will give scientists information about the complex gases in Titan’s atmosphere, as well as crucial clues to deciphering why Titan is the only moon in the Solar System with a dense atmosphere.
[Image Description: Side-by-side images of Saturn’s moon Titan, captured by Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera on 4 November 2022, with clouds and other features visible. Left image is various shades of red. Right image is shades of white, blue, and brown.]
Note: This post highlights data from Webb science in progress, which has not yet been through the peer-review process.
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