ESA : Science World Report

Dec 19, 2013 09:00 PM EST

Liftoff for ESA's Billion Star Surveyor

ESA's Gaia mission blasted off this morning on a Soyuz rocket from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on its exciting mission to study a billion suns.

Dec 13, 2013 03:47 PM EST

Gaia Billion-Star Surveyor is Getting Ready to Launch

ESA's billion-star surveyor Gaia, less than a week from launch, is now tucked up inside the fairing that will protect it during the first few minutes of ascent into space.

Oct 11, 2013 06:36 PM EDT

'Ferrari of Space' Satellite GOCE Will Soon Crash Out-of-Fuel

After nearly tripling its planned lifetime, the Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer - GOCE - is nearing its end of mission and will soon reenter our atmosphere.

Aug 30, 2013 11:46 PM EDT

European Space Transporter ATV-5 Pictured in Factory

Seen here is the European Space Agency's (ESA) 5th Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV-5) during integration at Astrium in Bremen, Germany.

Jul 30, 2013 10:02 PM EDT

Testing High-Speed Laser Uplinks to the Moon and Beyond

An advanced laser system offering vastly faster data speeds is now ready for linking with spacecraft beyond our planet following a series of crucial ground tests. Later this year, ESA's observatory in Spain will use the laser to communicate with a NASA Moon orbiter.

Jul 11, 2013 08:13 PM EDT

Billion-Star Surveyor GAIA Will Launch This Year to 3D Map Our Galaxy

Gaia’s main goal is to create a highly accurate 3D map of our Milky Way Galaxy by repeatedly observing a billion stars to determine their precise positions in space and their motions through it.

Jun 13, 2013 05:41 PM EDT

Tracking Aircraft From Space Already Possible

ESA’s Proba-V has become the first satellite to pick up aircraft tracking signals, allowing aircraft across the globe to be followed in flight from space.

Jun 07, 2013 08:32 PM EDT

Heaviest ESA Cargo Spaceship Ever Launched On Its Way to Space Station

At 20 190 kg, ATV Albert Einstein is the heaviest spacecraft ever launched by Ariane, beating predecessor ATV Edoardo Amaldi by some 150 kg. ESA’s resupply and reboost vehicle is the largest, most advanced and most capable of the vehicles servicing the orbital outpost.

May 10, 2013 04:13 PM EDT

Earth's Most Precious Resource To Be Monitored By New Scientific Satellite

The satellite code-named 'Biomass', designed to map and monitor one of "Earth's most precious resources", was selected to become the seventh Earth Explorer mission by the European Space Agency.

Feb 21, 2013 02:47 PM EST

Searching Life On Jupiter's Icy Moons With New Exploration Mission

Jupiter’s icy moons will be explored in more detail by Europe’s next large science mission, JUICE, which will carry a total of 11 scientific instruments to study both the gas giant planet and its large ocean-bearing moons, as finalized and announced by ESA today.

Feb 20, 2013 05:06 PM EST

Next-Door Star Alpha Centauri A With Same Cool Phenomenon as Sun

The star Alpha Centauri A in the closest neighboring star system, already regarded a twin of our own sun, was found to have the same strange cool layer in it's atmosphere as well by ESA’s Herschel space observatory. It is the first time this has been seen in a star beyond our own Sun, but that is ...

Feb 12, 2013 04:51 PM EST

Europe's ISS Columbus Laboratory: Five Years Science in Space

A variety of scientific results were achieved thanks to now 5 years of experiments aboard the European Columbus laboratory module attached to the International Space Station. By now, 110 ESA-led experiments involving some 500 scientists have been conducted since 2008, spanning fluid physics, materia...