Luca Parmitano returns to the International Space Station
ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano has arrived at the International Space Station following a six-hour journey alongside crewmates NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov in the Russian Soyuz MS-13 spacecraft....
Beyond launch full replay
Watch the full replay of Luca Parmitano being launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome in a Soyuz MS-13 spacecraft.
We have liftoff
Watch the replay of ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano's liftoff from Baikonur cosmodrome in the Soyuz MS-13. Next stop: Space Station.
Europeans in Apollo: First flag on the Moon?
The flag-like Solar Wind Composition Experiment was the first experiment set up by the Apollo 11 astronauts on the lunar surface, and its Principal Investigator was Johannes Geiss, the world-leading Swiss physicist.
Shaun the Sheep completes astronaut training with ESA
Children’s film character Shaun the Sheep has completed his microgravity training ahead of the launch of his second animated feature film Farmageddon – and just in time for the 50th anniversary of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin...
Palm oil plantations
Earth observation image of the week: Copernicus Sentinel-2 captures palm oil plantations in East Kalimantan - the Indonesian part of the island Borneo
Angelic halo orbit chosen for humankind’s first lunar outpost
Mission planners at NASA and ESA’s Operations Centre (ESOC) have spent months debating the pros and cons of different orbits, and have now decided on the path of the lunar Gateway.
Powering the future with lunar soil
Building a lunar base would be one of the next logical steps in our exploration of the Solar System, but the survival of a future crew depends on access to a reliable source of energy. An ESA Discovery & Preparation study explored...
Building a toolkit for the Moon
As the world celebrates 50 years since the first lunar landing, the team at ESA’s astronaut centre is looking to the future of lunar exploration. This includes developing prototypes for rock and soil sampling equipment to be used on...
The Moon camera
Hasselblad cameras are synonymous with the Apollo missions. We visited Gothenburg to find out how a Swedish camera made it to the Moon.
Third European service module for Orion to ferry astronauts on Moon landing
NASA and ESA have a long term plan for Europe to deliver the European Service Modules for Orion. With NASA’s announcement to bring humans back to the lunar surface before the end of 2024, it was also decided that the third...
ESA microchip on Moon
Technology image of the week: China’s Chang’e-4 mission on the far side of the Moon is employing an ESA-backed LEON microprocessor
Beyond live
Tune in Saturday 20 July to watch the launch of Luca Parmitano to the International Space Station live from Baikonur, Kazakhstan.
#nofilter
Human and robotic exploration image of the week: Buzz Aldrin on the lunar surface, taken by Neil Armstrong after Apollo 11 Moon landing
ESA confirms asteroid will miss Earth in 2019
Asteroid 2006 QV89, a small object 20 to 50 metres in diameter, was in the news lately because of a very small, 1-in-7000 chance of impact with Earth on 9 September 2019.
Gaia starts mapping our galaxy’s bar
The first direct measurement of the bar-shaped collection of stars at the centre of our Milky Way galaxy has been made by combining data from ESA’s Gaia mission with complementary observations from ground- and space-based telescopes.
ESA identifies demand for satellites around the Moon
Dozens of very different commercial and institutional missions to the Moon are planned for the coming decades. These encompass everything from NASA’s manned Lunar Gateway research station and cubesats from start-ups and universities...
To the Moon – down south
Half a century ago humans stepped on the Moon for the first time in a set of sorties that awed the world. Over the years since we have explored our Solar System with robotic scouts and established a permanent human presence in space...
Apollo 11 launch pad
Celebrating 50 years since Apollo 11 blasted off carrying the first humans that would walk on the Moon, Copernicus Sentinel-2 captures this historic launch site