Tag: ESA

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Watch the latest updates on ESA’s Fly! Feasibility Study with Daniel Neuenschwander, ESA Director of Human and Robotic Exploration, John McFall, Member of the ESA Astronaut Reserve & Fly! Subject Matter Expert, Jerome Reineix, Fly! Study Manager, and Alessandro Alcibiade, Fly! Flight Surgeon.

Announced in November 2022 during the Ministerial Council held in Paris, France, this unique and groundbreaking study is aimed at understanding and challenging the limitations posed by physical disabilities to human spaceflight. Concluded in late 2024, the Fly! Feasibility Study successfully demonstrated it is technically feasible to fly someone with a physical disability, like John’s, on a six-month mission to the International Space Station as a fully integrated crew member. It underpinned the desire to ensure that space exploration is not limited by physical constraints and that every individual can contribute to our collective understanding of the cosmos and of the benefits of spaceflight for life on Earth.

The end of the feasibility study marks the start of the next phase: Fly! Mission Ready . This is an essential step to carry out the first long-term mission for an astronaut with a physical disability.

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For Valentine’s Day, the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission picks out a heart in the landscape north of Mount St Helens in the US state of Washington.

In a first for space cuisine, ESA project astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski will bring pierogi, the traditional Polish dumplings, to the International Space Station during the upcoming Axiom Mission 4.

Launched just two months ago and still in the process of being commissioned for service, the Copernicus Sentinel-1C satellite is, remarkably, already showing how its radar data can be used to map the shape of Earth’s land surface with extreme precision.

These first cross-satellite ‘interferometry’ results assure its ability to monitor subsidence, uplift, glacier flow, and disasters such as landslides and earthquakes.

After years of meticulous development, ESA’s next Earth Explorer satellite, Biomass, is ready to be packed up for transport to Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, where it will launch aboard a Vega-C rocket this spring.

Before final preparations and shipment, media representatives had the exclusive opportunity today to see the satellite up close in the cleanroom at Airbus’ facilities in Toulouse, France.

Today we mark the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. Join us in a journey around Europe with EIROforum organisations to discover the brilliant talents who are shaping the future of science and technology, and dive deeper into the story of a European Space Agency young professional making her way in space. 

Euclid, the European Space Agency’s dark Universe detective, has made an astonishing discovery – right in our cosmic backyard.

Optical technology has the potential to revolutionise the field of positioning, navigation and timing. To drive the development of this technology, ESA has signed a contract with a consortium of European companies that will conduct a definition study (Phase A/B1) and associated critical technology predevelopment.

This is the first step toward a potential in-orbit demonstrator for optical time synchronisation and ranging (OpSTAR) that will be proposed at the ESA Council at Ministerial Level in November 2025, to validate intersatellite optical links before future use in operational satellite navigation systems.

Week in images: 03-07 February 2025

Discover our week through the lens

The European Space Agency (ESA) has endorsed the United Nations’ (UN) designation of 2029 as the International Year of Asteroid Awareness and Planetary Defence.

The initiative will foster international collaboration in the field of planetary defence and educate the public on the risks and opportunities associated with near-Earth asteroids.

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The ranges and valleys of the Swiss Alps stand out in this image captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission in December 2024.

Space is not the safest place to be. During spaceflight, both devices and humans risk exposure to high levels of radiation. Without sufficient protection, instruments would malfunction, and astronauts might face serious health risks. A team of researchers from Ghent University in Belgium are testing the potential of 3D-printed hydrogels – materials that can soak up large amounts of water – to serve as highly-effective radiation shields.