Video: 00:04:46

ESA’s Civil Security from Space programme aims to save lives and livelihoods by reinforcing terrestrial systems that can become compromised by natural disasters or malicious actions.

It aims to deliver a faster response than is presently possible by ensuring that real-time data is available anywhere through state-of-the-art space-enabled systems, making use of secure networks and reliable cloud computing to ensure the information is resilient and reliable. The programme also aims to enable governments and emergency services to act on an unfolding situation by using smart data gathering and intelligent processing to create a holistic awareness of the situation.

Video: 00:01:20

Listen to the ESA/JAXA BepiColombo spacecraft as it flew past Mercury on 8 January 2025. This sixth and final flyby used the little planet's gravity to steer the spacecraft on course for entering orbit around Mercury in 2026. 

What you can hear in the sonification soundtrack of this video are real spacecraft vibrations measured by the Italian Spring Accelerometer (ISA) instrument. The accelerometer data have been shifted in frequency to make them audible to human ears – one hour of measurements have been sped up to one minute of sound.  

BepiColombo is always shaking ever so

Image: Satellite ready for close-up

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 23, 2025
The near-Earth object 2024 PT5, a small asteroid discovered in 2024, has been identified as likely originating from the Moon. Scientists believe it was ejected into space thousands of years ago following a significant impact event, offering valuable opportunities to study both asteroid dynamics and lunar geology. The asteroid, approximately 33 feet (10 meters) wide, was first observed on A

Washington DC (SPX) Jan 23, 2025
Researchers have used an aircraft to measure the wind speed on Mars, marking the first time this method has been used on another planet. This groundbreaking measurement was made possible by the Ingenuity helicopter, which was active for nearly three years and spent, cumulatively, more than two hours in flight on the Red Planet. In February 2021, Mars got two new inhabitants: the Perseveran

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 23, 2025
Four compact spacecraft, designed and constructed by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), have arrived at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California for final preparations ahead of their upcoming launch. NASA's Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) mission will share its ride to orbit with the Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Ex

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 23, 2025
NASA's Artemis program is spearheading efforts to return humans to the Moon, establish a sustainable lunar presence, and pave the way for crewed missions to Mars. As part of this initiative, engineers are tackling the challenge of lunar dust, a substance known for its sharp, abrasive particles that adhere to spacesuits and disrupt equipment functionality. Lunar dust emerged as a significan

Greenbelt MD (SPX) Jan 23, 2025
From Jan. 11 to 15, 2025, a bright comet surged through images from the ESA (European Space Agency) and NASA SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory) spacecraft. Called C/2024 G3 (ATLAS), the comet made its closest pass to the Sun, or perihelion, on Jan. 13, soaring a mere 8 million miles (or 9% of the average Earth-Sun distance) from our star. These views of comet ATLAS were captured by

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Jan 23, 2025
Singapore has officially joined the Global Network of Optical Magnetometers to search for Exotic physics (GNOME), an international collaboration focused on identifying signals of dark matter and other exotic astrophysical fields. Dark matter, which alongside dark energy is theorized to make up 95% of the universe, presents one of the greatest challenges to modern physics due to its elusive natur

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 22, 2025
Almagest Space Corporation, a US-based leader in developing secure data relay systems for government and commercial use, has announced the successful launch and deployment of ELEVATION-1. This demonstration satellite carries the first-ever E-band communications payload, a critical step toward creating Almagest's high-performance data solutions. Launched with the support of D-Orbit S.p.A. o