ESA Top News

ESA and international toy manufacturer Mattel are taking further steps to raise awareness of the importance of female role models during times of pandemic and beyond.

Improvising new stuff from the stuff you have is part of an astronaut’s job description – think Apollo 13’s crew refitting CO2 filters to save their own lives, or stranded Mark Watney in The Martian, feeding himself on the Red Planet. Now plans are underway to manufacture items in orbit, and ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst argues this could make a big difference to living and working in space.

On the occasion of International Women’s Day 2021, and as excitement builds for the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope (Webb) in October, ESA is highlighting women who play an important role in Europe’s contribution to Webb.

Week in images: 01 - 05 March 2021

Discover our week through the lens

Do you want to visit all ESA establishments and see what we’re doing to explore space and protect our planet? Now you can, by taking virtual tours from your own homes, thanks to the Discover ESA interactive experience.

The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over the Galápagos Islands – a volcanic archipelago situated some 1000 km west of Ecuador in the Pacific Ocean.

• The full ExoMars 2022 mission comprising the carrier module, descent module, Kazachok surface platform and Rosalind Franklin rover have completed essential ‘spin tests’ in preparation for their journey to Mars
• Rosalind Franklin’s rover twin on Earth has executed trial science activities for the first time, including drill sample collection and close-up imaging
• A new parachute strategy has been adopted ahead of the next series of high altitude drop tests

Careers at ESA

For the first time, scientists, using satellite data from the Copernicus Sentinel missions, are now able to detect individual methane plumes leaking from natural gas pipelines around the globe.

Why does ESA send missions beyond our Earth? To explore unknown worlds, and better understand our place in the Universe. But that answer only gives part of the picture. The first thing people do when they first reach space is to turn back to see our homeworld. Looking down on our planet from above allows ESA with its global partners to monitor climate, disasters and environmental changes – to work together to protect our home.

And danger comes from above as well as below: a close eye on our stormy Sun is vital to gather early warning of harmful space weather, while keeping an eye out for incoming asteroids. ESA has a responsibility to preserve the space environment into the future, by tackling the problem of orbital debris. Space connects us, powers our economies and improves all our lives, as well fostering innovation and inspiration. So ESA works to care for space, just as we do for Earth and its citizens. 

#SpaceCare #SpaceResponsible #SpaceInAction 

Watch the replay of the briefing to media representatives to learn more about the next spaceflight of ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti.

During the event, Samantha was joined by ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher,  ESA Director of Human and Robotic Exploration David Parker, and Italian space agency president Giorgio Saccoccia.

Samantha is a member of ESA’s astronaut class of 2009. During her firsission ‘Futura’ in 2014t m–15, she spent 200 days in space, carrying out science and operations on the International Space Station as a flight engineer for Expeditions 42 and 43. She now looks forward to returning to the ISS, her “home away from home.”

Do you have fresh ideas on how Earth observation data can contribute to monitoring the effects brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic? If so, ESA and the European Commission have launched a new series of monthly challenges asking for innovative solutions on how satellite data can be used to help better understand the effects of the coronavirus on society, economy and the environment.

Italian ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti poses in the Cupola module of the International Space Station with two 100-day patches to mark her 200th day in space. She is now set to return to her ‘home away from home’ for even more days in space. 

Samantha first flew to the International Space Station on a Soyuz spacecraft in 2014 for a mission known as ‘Futura’. Her second flight follows the second missions of her fellow 2009 astronaut classmates Alexander Gerst in 2018, Luca Parmitano in 2019 and Thomas Pesquet in 2021. It could also see a direct on-Station handover with Matthias Maurer who is scheduled to fly his first mission to the Space Station later this year. The spacecraft Samantha will fly on is not yet confirmed, but could be a SpaceX Crew Dragon or Boeing CST-100 Starliner.

During Futura, Samantha supported an extensive scientific programme of experiments in physical science, biology and human physiology as well as radiation research and technology demonstrations.

She also oversaw the undocking of ESA’s fifth and final Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV). This marked the end of a successful programme that paved the way for the European Service Modules currently being produced for NASA’s Orion spacecraft that will travel around and to the Moon.

Training for Samantha’s second mission is already underway and has included International Space Station refresher sessions at ESA’s astronaut centre in Cologne, Germany, and NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

In the coming months, her schedule will intensify as she brushes up on Space Station systems and procedures and trains for the specific experiments and tasks she will perform in space.

More details of Samantha’s second mission will be announced during a virtual press briefing on Wednesday, 3 March, at 11:00 CET. Watch on ESA Web TV here. 

ESA is also in the process of recruiting its next class of astronauts. For more on the upcoming selection visit esa.int/YourWayToSpace.  

As of today, 1 March 2021, ESA has a new Director General: Dr Josef Aschbacher, who has taken up duty at ESA Headquarters in Paris, France.

Week in images: 22 - 26 February 2021

Discover our week through the lens

Register now for ESA’s first-ever virtual teacher conference! Over the course of three days, from 6 to 8 July 2021, ESA Education will bring space into your classroom. Explore space by hearing from space experts; discover inspiring ways to use space as a context to teach STEM in your physical and virtual classrooms; experience demonstrations of our fun classroom activities; and enjoy social space-themed events and more!

Applications are open until 15 June 2021 on a first-come, first-served basis, so apply now!

The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over Vancouver – the third largest city in Canada.